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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
ABBREVIATION :
FRECAL
SYNONYMS :
Fremontia californica Torr. [33]
SCS PLANT CODE :
FRCA6
COMMON NAMES :
flannelbush
California fremontia
California slippery-elm
mountain leatherwood
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of flannelbush is Fremontodendron
californicum (Torr.) Cov. It is a member of the cacao family
(Sterculiaceae) [23,26]. Accepted infrataxa are F. c. ssp. californicum
and F. d. spp. decumbens (R.Lloyd) Munz) [48].
LIFE FORM :
Tree, Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
See OTHER STATUS
OTHER STATUS :
Fremontodendron californicum ssp. decumbens is a proposed endangered
taxon [47].
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Diane S. Pavek, September 1993
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Pavek, Diane S. 1993. Fremontodendron californicum. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Flannelbush is widespread in California. It extends eastward into
central Arizona and southward into northern Baja California, Mexico
[18,23,33,37,38].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
STATES :
AZ CA MEXICO
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
SEQU
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
7 Lower Basin and Range
12 Colorado Plateau
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K030 California oakwoods
K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
K033 Chaparral
SAF COVER TYPES :
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon - juniper
240 Arizona cypress
241 Western live oak
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Flannelbush is a member of dry temperate sclerophyllous floras and is a
characteristic species of chaparral [3,19]. It is a dominant shrub of
desert chaparral communities which also finger into desert scrub or
pinyon-juniper (Pinus spp.-Juniperus spp.) communities [6,17,18].
Additionally, it is found in chamise (Adenostoma fasciculata) chaparral
and northern mixed chaparral, and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
communities of California [9,19,42]. Flannelbush is a dominant or
indicator species in the following publications:
(1) Vegetation types of the San Gabriel Mountains [16]
(2) Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities
of California [19]
(3) Vegetation of the San Bernardino Mountains [31].
Flannelbush is associated with numerous species listed in descriptions
of ecosystems, Kuchler plant associations, or SAF cover types. Two
species that are associated with flannelbush but not mentioned in those
descriptions are desert almond (Prunus fasciculata) and bush poppy
(Dendromecon rigida) [16].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
Flannelbush wood is heavy and varies from hard to soft [10,30]. The
wood is fine-grained, but it is not used commercially due to the
small-sized bole [10].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Flannelbush provides yearlong browse for livestock and large game animals
[4,9,10,23,37]. Young leaves and twigs are consumed more often than
older parts [37].
PALATABILITY :
Palatability of flannelbush was rated as excellent for deer, good to
fair for sheep and goats, fair to poor for cattle, and poor or useless
for horses [34,37].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Flannelbush is recommended for erosion control at elevations ranging
from 500 to 6,000 feet (152-1,829 m) [14,20,35]. Flannelbush has been
planted on banks and levees of flood control channels in California [14].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Tea made from flannelbush bark relieves throat irritations [27]. The
mucilaginous inner bark is used in poultices for wounds [9,10].
Flannelbush is used in landscaping [20,22,23,34].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Following the removal of mixed chaparral top growth in California
rangeland by bulldozing and burning, forage production was evaluated in
a series of exclosure treatments over 6 years. The treatments were
various combinations of 1 to 3 years of protection with 2 to 4 years of
browsing. Flannelbush grew rapidly in all treatments, even exceeding
browse line in the 1-year treatments. It grew out of browsing reach
with or without continuous use by deer and/or cattle. Intensive
browsing pressure is necessary to maintain flannelbush as low, readily
available forage [13].
The root system of flannelbush is sensitive to disturbance which makes
it unsuitable for bareroot transplanting. Methods of propagation are
discussed in detail in the literature [20,22]. Flannelbush seed
harvest, storage, germination, and planting methods are also discussed
in detail [8,24,34].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Flannelbush is a native, evergreen, erect to decumbent shrub or tree.
It reaches 3.3 to 13.1 feet (1-4 m) tall as a shrub. As a tree, it may
grow to 30 feet (9 m) tall and 13.8 inches (35 cm) in diameter
[10,23,26,30, 38,40]. It has a broad, open crown and a short trunk with
deeply fissured bark. The thick leaves are simple with 3 to 5 lobes and
are 1 to 1.4 inches (2.5-3.5 cm) long [10,40]. Leaves usually remain
for 2 years; however, during wetter than normal springs, flannelbush
produces larger leaves that are shed in late summer [3]. The flowers
are 1 to 1.5 inches (0.4 to 1.8 cm) long [26,37]. Flowers are solitary
in twig axils and numerous throughout the plant [26,30]. The fruit is a
very hairy capsule 0.63 to 1.5 inches (1.6-3.9 cm) long and contains
numerous seeds [26,34,37].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
Chamaephyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Flannelbush reproduces sexually and asexually. Flannelbush blooms the
second year after germination [34]. It is usually an abundant seed
producer [10]. Germination levels during laboratory trials were very
low (3 to 10 percent) [24].
Seeds have an elaiosome [24]. Although seeds are thrown from the
capsule by wind or other disturbances, ants are probably the main
dispersal agents [34,43].
Flannelbush sprouts vigorously from the lignotuber following removal of
top growth [17,26,43].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Flannelbush grows in mediterranean climates [3]. Over its range,
flannelbush is found on all aspects in foothills and low elevation
mountains [51,42]. In California and northern Mexico, flannelbush often
occurs on granitic slopes from 3,000 to 6,000 feet (900-1,800 m)
[9,15,40,32].
Kruckeberg [28] classified flannelbush as an indicator species for
serpentine soils in California; however, it also occurs on soils derived
from other parent materials [43]. Flannelbush is found on a variety of
soil textures that range from gravelly loams to clays. It may occur on
soils that are shallow or deep and rich [1,43].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Flannelbush is a minor component of climax chaparral. It is primarily
found in seral communites of woodland-grass chaparral [4,5].
Occasionally, it occurs in seral forest chaparral. Flannelbush grows in
open to very dense chaparral stands; light does not appear to be a
limiting factor in establishment.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Flannelbush blooms between April and July throughout its range
[9,10,30,34]. Fruits mature during August or September [34]. Seeds
disperse during summer and fall [24,34].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Flannelbush is well adapted to recurring fires with its abundant seed
production, prolific sprouting, and rapid growth. It reaches maturity
relatively quickly; seeds can spread via animal or wind into fire-opened
areas.
Chaparral is one of the most fire-susceptible vegetations in the world;
fire is the major cause of secondary succession in chaparral [15].
Flannelbush cover, similar to that of other chaparral species, is
influenced by the frequency of burning. Chaparral communities evolved
under variable fire recurrence regimes [46]. Recurrence intervals may
be as short as 0 to 40 years, depending on the size and age of previous
fires, or as long as over 100 years [5,45]. Flannelbush is also a
dominant shrub in desert chaparral communities which burn less
frequently and intensely than other chaparral types [15,21].
Flannelbush invades singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) stands
following fire [5,21,31].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tree with adventitious-bud root crown/soboliferous species root sucker
Tall shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire top-kills flannelbush; surviving lignotubers sprout following fire
[7,9,34,44].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
All aboveground biomass of flannelbush was killed during a prescribed
fire in November 1980 in chaparral of southern California. Two months
later, flannelbush had sprouted in a study site at 5,085 feet (1,550 m)
elevation. By June 1981, flannelbush sprouts covered approximately
744.9 square feet per acre (171 sq m/ha) and seedling cover was 39.2
square feet per acre (9 sq m/ha) [25].
Flannelbush vigorously sprouted and rapidly grew during the first 6
years following mechanical clearing (1954) and prescribed fire (1955) in
mixed chaparral on the San Joaquin deer winter range in California.
Twenty-two years following a wildfire (1939) in a different area on the
winter range, flannelbush plants were numerous. Surviving lignotubers
had sprouted, and plants had attained tree status [13].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
In California, prescribed fire is used to improve grazing conditions in
woodland-grass chaparral cover types where flannelbush occurs [4]. Most
flannelbush utilization by browsing animals takes place during the first
2 years following fire when sprouting is greatest [37].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Fremontodendron californicum | Flannelbush
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Index
Related categories for Species: Fremontodendron californicum
| Flannelbush
|
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