BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Garrya wrightii | Wright Silktassel 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wright silktassel is a 3- to 10-foot (1-3 m) tall evergreen shrub with
stout, quadrangular branches and thick, leathery, light green leaves
[13,37].  Plants are dioecious, and the flowers of both sexes occur in
loose or dense catkinlike spikes [13].  The purple berries are 0.17 to
0.33 inch (4-8 mm) in diameter and contain one or two brown seeds [37].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Wright silktassel reproduces sexually through abundant seed.  The seeds
are encased within a small globose to ovoid berry.  Seeds are probably
dispersed by birds which feed on the berries.  Some seeds exhibit embryo
dormancy; others germinate without any pretreatment [30].  Under
laboratory conditions, germination of pretreated seeds varied from 47 to
86 percent [30].

Seedbanking:  Following prescribed burning in Arizona chaparral, Wright
silktassel seedlings emerged during 4 out of 5 years following the fire,
indicating that viable seeds were stored in the soil [23].

Sprouting:  Following damage to the aboveground portion of the plant,
most plants regenerate by sprouting from the root crown [10].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wright silktassel is primarily found in interior chaparral and as an
understory component in pinyon-juniper, and open oak and pine-oak
woodlands [5,6,18,20,21].  Wright silktassel is common on both north and
south exposures throughout Arizona chaparral and is most abundant from
5,000 to 8,000 feet (1,524-2,438 m) in elevation [3].  

Associated shrubs in Arizona chaparral include turbinella oak, Emory oak
(Quercus emoryi), true mountain-mahogany, birchleaf mountain-mahogany,
skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata), desert ceanothus (Ceanothus greggii),
pointleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens), Pringle manzanita (A.
pringlei), yellowleaf silktassel (Garrya flavescens), and hollyleaf
buckthorn (Rhamnus crocea) [3,10,21].  Shrub associates in semidesert
grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and oak woodlands are commonly the
same shrubs with which Wright silktassel is associated in nearby
chaparral communities [7,19].  In southern New Mexico and western Texas,
Wright silktassel is common in oak scrub communities dominated by gray
oak (Quercus grisea), coahuila scrub oak (Q. intricata), and hairy
mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus var. paucidentatus) [6,7].

Elevational ranges are presented below [1,13,27]:

from 4,000 to 5,500 feet (1,219-1,676 m) in Trans-Pecos TX
     3,000 to 8,000 feet (914-2,438 m) in AZ
     4,300 to 7,200 feet (1,311-2,195 m) in the Rincon Mtns. AZ 


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Wright silktassel is a common component of interior chaparral, a
vegetation type considered to be a true climactic climax susceptible to
large-scale burning [3].  The sprouting capability of Wright silktassel
allows it to become a part of the immediate postfire community.
Individual plants may live to be very old, although the aboveground
portion may extend back only to the last fire [21].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Wright silktassel flowers from March to August in Arizona and from May
to August in Texas [27,30].  Fruits ripen from August to September in
Arizona [27].

Related categories for Species: Garrya wrightii | Wright Silktassel