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Santa Cruz Island Ironwood
Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius
  
About Santa Cruz Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius) 38 Nurseries Carry This Plant Santa Cruz Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius) is a native tree that grows in Southern California, endemic to 3 of the Channel Islands: Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, and San Clemente Island. It tends to grow in rocky slopes, at elevations from 100-1600 feet. It grows in the chaparral and oak woodlands of the rocky coastal canyons.

This is a tree growing up to 15 meters (49 ft) tall with peeling reddish gray or brown bark. The evergreen leaves are shiny, dark green with lighter undersides, and borne on short petioles. The 2 subspecies of Lyonothamnus floribundus have leaves of different shapes. This one, L.f. ssp. asplenifolius (Santa Cruz Island Ironwood) has incised, fern-like leaves. It is more commonly available in native plant nurseries and used horticulturally. The other, L.f. ssp. floribundus (Catalina Island Ironwood) has smooth, undivided leaves and is almost never seen in gardens or nurseries. The inflorescence of both is a cluster of woolly white flowers with many short, whiskery stamens. The fruit is a pair of hard follicles.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
25 - 50 ft tall
12 - 24 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Cream, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
This tree is tolerant of a variety of soils as long as drainage is reasonably good. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky slopes and protected canyons on Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, and San Clemente Island. Plant community habitats include Broadleafed upland forest, Chaparral, and Cismontane woodland.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 8.6" - 18.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 0.29", Coldest Month: 46.8" - 57.1", Hottest Month: 62.8" - 73.3", Humidity: 1.44" - 16.69", Elevation: 40" - 1789"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Fern-leaf Catalina Ironwood


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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