BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Chamaebatia foliolosa | Sierra Mountain Misery 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sierra mountain misery is a low, erect, native evergreen shrub from 0.5
to 2 feet (0.2-0.6 m) in height [29].  The multibranched stems arise at
intervals of a few inches from a complicated and sometimes matlike
system of roots and rhizomes [32].  Individual rhizomes have been
measured at over 82 feet (25 m) in length (Munn, in [31]) and extend
from 4 to 16 inches (10-40 cm) beneath the soil surface.  Roots are
found as deep as 4.9 feet (1.5 m) belowground [30].  Masses of
multilobed nitrogen-fixing nodules have been found on roots of plants
near Pollock Pines.  Examination of roots in areas where soils have
thick surface horizens (Ao), however, revealed no root nodulation in
that horizen.  Roots in lower horizens were not examined [35].  The
fernlike, viscid, aromatic leaves are pinnately dissected into tiny
crowded segments.  Each segment is tipped with a resin gland.  Flowers
are glutinous.  The fruit is an achene about 0.5 inch (5 mm) long,
containing a single seed [20,21,24,29].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte
   Chamaephyte
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
The primary method of reproduction is vegetative.  Sierra mountain
misery produces clones from its rhizomes, roots, and root crown [15,21].
Sexual reproduction is less frequent.  Methods of seed dissemination
were not reported in the literature.  Seeds require from 1 to 3 months
of cold stratification (35 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit [1.7-5.0 deg C])
prior to germination [20].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sierra mountain misery grows in a Mediterranean climate, characterized
by mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.  At one representative site
in the central Sierra Nevada, annual precipitation averages 68 inches
(173 cm), with about 98 percent falling between October and May.  The
top 12 inches (30.5 cm) of soil is dry from June to September.

The most common soil series supporting Sierra mountain misery has a
loamy texture in surface horizons, grading to a clayey loam with depth.
Soil pH is acid to moderately acid [21].  

Plants occur at elevations between 2,000 and 7,000 feet (610-2,134 m)
[20].

Associated overstory species not listed under Distribution and
Occurrence include sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), incense-cedar
(Libocedrus decurrens), Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), and sequoia
(Sequoiadendron giganteum).  Understory associates include bush
chinquapin (Chrysolepsis sempervirens), mountain whitethorn (Ceanothus
cordulatus), deerbrush (C. integerrimus), wedgeleaf ceanothus, Mariposa
manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita), greenleaf manzanita, whiteleaf
manzanita, and gooseberry (Ribes spp.) [1,34].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Sierra mountain misery is moderately shade tolerant, growing under open
tree stands but not under closed canopies [1,14].  When fire or other
disturbance occurs at regular intervals, it attains subcanopy dominance
within 3 to 4 years and remains dominant until the next disturbance
[6,13].  Sierra mountain misery is a climax understory species in
ponderosa pine forests, which are fire-climax in California [2].
Without fire or other disturbance, it will decline as the overhead
canopy closes [1,14].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
New leaf initiation begins in spring, with flowers opening from May
through July [12,20,24].  Growth usually stops in midsummer, probably
limited by inadequate soil moisture [12].  Seed is disseminated in fall
[32].  Leaves are retained for 12 to 19 months before abscission [27].

Related categories for Species: Chamaebatia foliolosa | Sierra Mountain Misery