Garrya ovata, the eggleaf silktassel, Mexican silktassel, or eggleaf garrya, is a species of flowering plant. It is a shrub endemic to Mexico, ranging from northeastern Mexico to Jalisco in western Mexico.
The plant is usually found as an understory species in moist forests, such as Madrean pine-oak woodlands.
Description Garrya ovata is a shrub up to tall and wide.NPIN The leaves are thick and leathery, ovate, up to long, tomentose on both sides when young, at maturity glabrous above but tomentose below.Bentham, George. 1839. Plantas Hartwegianas imprimis Mexicanas 14.Carranza González, Eleazar. 1996. Garryaceae. Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes 49:1-16. Instituto de Ecología.Dahling, G. V. 1978. Systematics and evolution of Garrya. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. 209: 1–104.
Flowers are arranged in pendulous (hanging) racemes, and are green. It blooms in March through May.
Fruits are dark blue, spherical, up to in diameter.Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
Taxonomy The species was described by George Bentham in 1839. Two subspecies, G. ovata subsp. goldmanii and G. ovata subsp. lindheimeri, were formerly recognized,CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City. but they are now considered distinct species – Garrya goldmanii and Garrya lindheimeri
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile for Garrya ovata (eggleaf silktassel) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network: Garrya ovata