Heteromeles

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Heteromeles
Heteromeles arbutifolia 1.jpg
Toyon bush in habitat
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Amygdaloideae
Tribe: Maleae
Subtribe: Malinae
Genus: Heteromeles
M.Roem. nom. cons. 1847
Species:
H. arbutifolia
Binomial name
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Heteromeles arbutifolia range map.jpg
Natural range
Synonyms [3]
  • Photinia arbutifoliaLindl.
  • Crataegus arbutifoliaW.T.Aiton nom. illeg. [4]
  • Heteromeles fremontianaDecaisne
  • Heteromeles salicifolia(C.Presl) Abrams
  • Photinia salicifoliaC.Presl

Heteromeles arbutifolia ( /ˌhɛtɪroʊˈmiːliːzɑːrˌbjuːtɪˈfoʊliə/ ; [5] more commonly /ˌhɛtəˈrɒməliːz/ by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, [6] [7] California, and the Baja California Peninsula. [3] It is the sole species in the genus Heteromeles.

Toyon is a prominent component of the coastal sage scrub plant community, and is a part of drought-adapted chaparral and mixed oak woodland habitats. [8] It is also known by the common names Christmas berry [9] and California holly.

Description

Toyon typically grows from 2–5 m (rarely up to 10 m in shaded conditions) and has a rounded to irregular top. Its leaves are evergreen, alternate, sharply toothed, have short petioles, and are 5–10 cm in length and 2–4 cm wide. In the early summer it produces small white flowers 6–10 mm diameter in dense terminal corymbs. Flowering peaks in June. [10]

The five petals are rounded. The fruit is a small pome, [11] 5–10 mm across, bright red and berry-like, produced in large quantities, maturing in the fall and persisting well into the winter.[ citation needed ]

Phytochemistry

The plant has been used as a treatment for Alzheimer's by indigenous people of California and recent research has found a number of active compounds that are potentially beneficial to Alzheimer's treatment. These include icariside compounds, which protect the blood-brain barrier and prevent infiltration of inflammatory cells into the brain. [12]

Taxonomy

The genera Photinia , Aronia , Pourthiaea , and Stranvaesia have historically been variously combined by different taxonomists. [13] The genus Heteromeles as originally published by Max Joseph Roemer was monospecific, including Photinia arbutifolia Lindl. (1820), as H. arbutifolia (Lindl.) M. Roem, but the name was illegitimate (superfluous) because it included the type of the genus Photinia. [13] This has since been corrected by conservation, [14] and the name is therefore often written as Heteromeles M. Roem. nom. cons. (1847).[ citation needed ]

Varieties

Toxicity

Toyon pomes are acidic and astringent, and contain a small amount of cyanogenic glycosides, which break down into hydrocyanic acid on digestion. This is removed by mild cooking. [18] Most fruits from plants in the family Rosaceae, including apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, and plums, contain cyanide. [12]

Some pomes, though mealy, astringent and acidic when raw, were eaten fresh, or mashed into water to make a beverage.[ citation needed ]

A 2016 study found 5g of the dried berries (used as a treatment for Alzheimer's) to be safe. The study also found no cyanogenic compounds in the plant. [12]

Uses

Toyon berries J20151125-0008--Heteromeles arbutifolia (23303059776).jpg
Toyon berries

The pomes provided food for local Native American tribes, such as the Chumash, Tongva, and Tataviam. The pomes also can be made into a jelly. Native Americans also made a tea from the leaves as a stomach remedy. Most were dried and stored, then later cooked into porridge or pancakes. Later settlers added sugar to make custard and wine. [19] The plants were also often cooked over a fire to remove the slightly bitter taste by Californian tribes. [20]

The Tongva (who called the plant ashuwet) ate the berries fresh, boiled and left them in an earthen oven for 2 to 3 days, roasted them, or made them into a cider. Pulverized flowers were steeped into hot water to make tea which could be used to ease gynecological ailments. For stomach pains, bark and leaves are steeped in hot water to make tea. The same tea can serve as a seasonal tonic and ease other body pains. Also, applying mashed ashuwet to sores eases pain. Infected wounds are washed using an infusion of bark and leaves. [21] The ʔívil̃uqaletem also called the plant ashwet. They often consumed the fruit both raw and cooked. [20]

Cultivation

Toyon can be grown in domestic gardens in well-drained soil, and is cultivated as an ornamental plant as far north as Southern England. It can survive temperatures as low as -12 °C.[ citation needed ] In winter, the bright red pomes (which birds often eat voraciously) are showy.[ citation needed ]

Like many other genera in the Rosaceae tribe Maleae, toyon includes some cultivars that are susceptible to fireblight. [22] It survives on little water, making it suitable for xeriscape gardening, and is less of a fire hazard than some chaparral plants. [23]

They are visited by butterflies, and have a mild, hawthorn-like scent. The fruit are consumed by birds, including mockingbirds, American robins, cedar waxwings and hermit thrushes. [24] Mammals including coyotes and bears also eat and disperse the pomes.[ citation needed ]

Culture

In 1921, [25] collecting toyon branches for Christmas became so popular in Los Angeles that the State of California passed a law forbidding collecting on public land or on any land not owned by the person picking any plant without the landowner's written permission (CA Penal Code § 384a). [26] [27]

Toyon was adopted as the official native plant of the city of Los Angeles by the LA City Council on April 17, 2012. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maloideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

The MaloideaeC.Weber was the apple subfamily, a grouping used by some taxonomists within the rose family, Rosaceae. Recent molecular phylogenetic evidence has shown that the traditional Spiraeoideae and Amygdaloideae form part of the same clade as the traditional Maloideae, and the correct name for this group is Amygdaloideae. Earlier circumscriptions of Maloideae are more-or-less equivalent to subtribe Malinae or to tribe Maleae. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pome</span> Fruit with apple-like features

In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Pome fruits consist of a central "core" containing multiple small seeds, which is enveloped by a tough membrane and surrounded by an edible layer of flesh. Pome fruit trees are deciduous, and undergo a dormant winter period that requires cold temperatures to break dormancy in spring. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince.

<i>Pyracantha</i> Genus of shrubs

Pyracantha is a genus of large, thorny evergreen shrubs in the family Rosaceae, with common names firethorn or pyracantha. They are native to an area extending from Southwest Europe east to Southeast Asia. They resemble and are related to Cotoneaster, but have serrated leaf margins and numerous thorns.

<i>Aronia</i> Genus of plants (chokeberries)

Aronia is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries, in the family Rosaceae native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The genus Aronia is considered to have 3 species. The most common and widely used is Aronia melanocarpa which emerged from Eastern North America. The lesser known Aronia arbutifolia and the hybrid form of the abovementioned species called Aronia prunifolia were first cultivated in Central and Eastern North America. In the eighteenth century, the first shrubs of the best-known species Aronia melanocarpa reached Europe where they were first cultivated in Scandinavia and Russia.

<i>Photinia</i> Genus of shrubs in the family Rosaceae

Photinia is a genus of about 30 species of small trees and large shrubs, but the taxonomy has recently varied greatly, with the genera Heteromeles, Stranvaesia and Aronia sometimes included in Photinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal sage scrub</span> Shrubland plant community of California

Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.

Christmasberry can refer to any one of several shrubs or small trees, as well as their colorful fruit:

<i>Adenostoma fasciculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Adenostoma fasciculatum, commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs.

<i>Holodiscus discolor</i> Species of flowering plant

Holodiscus discolor, commonly known as ocean spray or oceanspray, creambush, or ironwood, is a shrub of western North America.

<i>Frangula californica</i> Species of tree

Frangula californica is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds. It is commonly known as California coffeeberry and California buckthorn.

<i>Prunus ilicifolia</i> Species of tree

Prunus ilicifolia is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert.

<i>Rhamnus crocea</i> Species of tree

Rhamnus crocea, the spiny redberry, is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native from California to northern Mexico. As of March 2024, five subspecies are recognized.

<i>Ceanothus crassifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus crassifolius is a species of flowering shrub known by the common name hoaryleaf ceanothus. This Ceanothus is found throughout the coastal mountain ranges of the southern half of California, and its range extends into Baja California.

<i>Photinia serratifolia</i> Species of tree

Photinia serratifolia, commonly called Taiwanese photinia or Chinese photinia is a flowering shrub or tree in the flowering plants family Rosaceae, found in mixed forests of China, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India.

<i>Cercocarpus betuloides</i> Species of tree

Cercocarpus betuloides is a shrub or small tree in the rose family. Its common names include mountain mahogany and birch leaf mountain mahogany The common name "mahogany" comes from the hardness and color of the wood, although the genus is not a true mahogany.

In botany, an obconic is an inverted cone shape. The term is most frequently applied to certain fruit or hypanthium structures with the apical end attached to the stem; however, less frequently the usage may apply to the pistil structure. In the case of fungi the designation is often made to the ascospore. The use of obconic in botany dates to at least as early as the nineteenth century; however, some modern usage applies to an entire plant form, such as the shape of a whole shrub. More broadly, in geometry or design, the term can be assigned in an abstract manner to shapes in the natural or man-made world which show an inverted cone design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maleae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

The Maleae are the apple tribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Older taxonomies separated some of this group as tribe Crataegeae, as the Cydonia group, or some genera were placed in family Quillajaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Malinae is the name for the apple subtribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. This name is required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, which came into force in 2011 for any group at the subtribe rank that includes the genus Malus but not either of the genera Rosa or Amygdalus. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

<i>Asphondylia photiniae</i> North American-inducing insect

Asphondylia photiniae, also known as the toyon fruit gall midge or toyon berry gall midge, is a species of midge that induces galls on the developing berries of the toyon bush in North America. Galled berries stay green and look somewhat warped. Each galled berry contains a single larva, which emerges in spring. This midge is known from the Californias, where native Heteromeles arbutifolia grows in relative abundance.

References

  1. ↑ IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.; Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). (2020). "Heteromeles arbutifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T156822115A156822117. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T156822115A156822117.en . Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Jepson Flora Project (1993) Heteromeles arbutifolia, University of California, Berkeley
  3. 1 2 James B. Phipps (2015), "Heteromeles arbutifolia (Lindley) M. Roemer, Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 3: 105. 1847", Flora of North America, vol. 9
  4. ↑ Tropicos.org , retrieved 11 November 2016
  5. ↑ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  6. ↑ "Final Environmental Impact Statement - Appendices" (PDF). Smith River National Recreation Area Restoration and Motorize Travel Management. United States Department of Agriculture: 192. December 2016. Heteromeles arbutifolia is found in Oregon and the location southwest of Pappas Flat is not the northernmost site in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, this site is adjacent to Highway 199 and will not be affected by the proposed actions, and is outside the geographic scope of the project.
  7. ↑ Wood, Wendell (February 2008). "Toyon Joins the List of Oregon's Native Shrubs" (PDF). Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. 41 (2): 11, 18.
  8. ↑ C.M. Hogan, 2008
  9. 1 2 3 James B. Phipps (2015), "Heteromeles M. Roemer, Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr. 3: 100, 105. 1847. [name conserved]", Flora of North America, vol. 9
  10. ↑ Heteromeles arbutifolia at iNaturalist
  11. ↑ "Heteromeles arbutifolia, in Jepson Flora Project". Regents of the University of California. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 Wang; Dubois; Young; Lien; Adams (7 Jul 2016). "Heteromeles Arbutifolia, a Traditional Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Phytochemistry and Safety". Medicines. 3 (3): 17. doi: 10.3390/medicines3030017 . PMC   5456246 . PMID   28930127.
  13. 1 2 Nesom, G.L. & Gandhi, K. (2009), "(1884–1885) Proposals to conserve the names Photinia, with a conserved type, and Heteromeles (Rosaceae)", Taxon, 58 (1): 310–311, doi: 10.1002/tax.581041
  14. ↑ International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants: Appendices II-VIII (Appendix III)
  15. ↑ Rebman, J. P.; Gibson, J.; Rich, K. (2016). "Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Baja California, Mexico" (PDF). Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 45: 245.
  16. ↑ de la Luz, J. L. L., Rebman, J. P., & Oberbauer, T. (2003). On the urgency of conservation on Guadalupe Island, Mexico: is it a lost paradise?. Biodiversity & Conservation, 12(5), 1073-1082.
  17. ↑ Raabe, R. D., & Gardner, M. W. (1972). Scab of Pyracantha, loquat, toyon, and kageneckia. Phytopathology, 62, 914-916.
  18. ↑ Jim Moore (21 November 2017). "Toyon – California's Own Christmas Berry Can Be Toxic |". mountainvalleyliving.com. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  19. ↑ "Ethnobotany of southern California native plants: Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)". EthnoHerbalist.
  20. 1 2 Bean, John Bean; Saubel, Katherine Siva (1969). Temalpakh (from the Earth): Cahuilla Indian Knowledge and Usage of Plants. Malki Museum Press. ISBN   978-0939046249.
  21. ↑ "Ashuwet". Tongva Medicinal Plants.
  22. ↑ Austin Hagan, Edward Sikora, William Gazaway, Nancy Kokalis- Burelle, 2004. Fire Blight on Fruit Trees and Woody Ornamentals, Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities
  23. ↑ Dave's Garden
  24. ↑ Kaplan, Alan; Hawkes, Alison (December 22, 2016), "Ask The Naturalist: How Important Are Red Toyon Berries To the Winter Food Chain?", Bay Nature
  25. ↑ November 11, 1921 Santa Ana Register, "Holly Trees of County to be saved by Vandals" State Legislature enacts law prohibiting the mutilation or sale of California Holly taken from public lands.
  26. ↑ McKINNEY, JOHN (December 6, 1986). "California Holly Adds Color to Trail Up Mt. Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. p. 12.
  27. ↑ California Penal Code Section 384a Archived 2009-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ↑ "Item No. (28)" (PDF). Journal/Council Proceedings. LA City Council. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
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