Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) is a large, densely-branching shrub or tree. Its leathery, sticky, dark-green leaves are up to 1 1/2 inches long and lance-shaped.The small cream flowers appear in spring in clusters of up to three. It produces a small, dry fruit.
It is very drought-adapted and hardy, which makes it great for the high desert and for slopes. It is also a good choice for a screen or background shrub. It takes full to part sun and well-draining rocky soil.
This plant is distributed across western North America, where it grows on low mountains and slopes. It has a great many medicinal uses for various Indigenous Peoples, such as the Paiute and the Shoshone.
This species is known to attain ages at least as great as 1,350 years (although the tree that yielded this age was cut down; Schultz et al. 1990). This makes it arguably the oldest known flowering plant.