Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) or “Tree” Mahogany is a native evergreen shrub common to the arid slopes and sidehills of the Great Basin. It is a perennial evergreen. In it’s shrubby form it may have many small trunks, but in the right circumstances will take on a tree form with a single trunk and many branches. It is also know by the common name Mountain Mahogany. Curl Leaf Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) averages 4-15 feet tall but trees as tall as 35 feet have been documented. It generally grows in patches or small “forests”, often comprising a considerable portion of the biomass where it resides. It flowers May to July and produces very aromatic flowers.
Tree Mahogany is found on hills, rocky slopes, and rocky ridges, and in canyons. It is somewhat shade tolerant. It is adapted to a wide range of soil textures, most abundant in dry coarse-textured soils. Snowberry, Rocky Mountain juniper, big sagebrush.
In mature stands, much of curlleaf mountain-mahogany foliage is out of reach of browsing animals but provides excellent winter cover. It is good forage for all classes of browsing animals in both summer and winter; it is one of the few browse species that meets or exceeds the protein requirements for wintering big game animals.
Because of its tolerance to heat and drought, curlleaf mountain-mahogany can be used for water-efficient landscaping in arid environments.
The wood of curlleaf mountain mahogany is so hard and dense that it will not float. It provides excellent fuel, producing intense heat and burning for long periods. Because curlleaf mountain-mahogany wood burns slowly, it was the preferred charcoal wood used for smelting ores in the nineteenth century. It is also highly prized as a barbecue fuel.
The Goshute Indians of Utah made bows from the wood of Cercocarpus ledifolius.
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