Coast Silk Tassel (Garrya elliptica) Login         


        Description
  • Height 7 - 20 ft.
  • EW Bloom
  • Leathery, opposite, evergreen leaves are shiny on the top and paler underneath.
  • Leaf margins are wavy.
  • Each individual plant has either male or female flowers, but not both.
  • CA native. Endemic to the California Floristic Province.
  • Look for male plants on the Franciscan between posts 12-15 and a female on the Sylvan near post 16.
  • AKA Silk Tassel, Silktassel, Coast Silktassel, Wavyleaf Silktassel
  • Silk Tassel Family (Garryaceae)



These female catkins are thicker and shorter than the male version.



Here are male catkins, cascading down like a silk tassel, sometimes 8" long.



Silk Tassel grows to the size of a small tree but has so many branches that it sometimes looks like a big shrub.

   Photo Gallery (58 ) click any picture to enlarge
    

Coast Silk Tassel has beautiful chains of flowers that look like a silk tassel. The leaves are roughly elliptic, reflecting the species name [i]ell ...

Leaves have wavy edges, a distinguishing characteristic for this species. The top surface is dark green, waxy and shiny. The bottom surface is p ...

Leaves feel leathery, and the edges often curl under. They grow to 2 or 3 inches long. The thick leaves taste bitter and are not often grazed by ...

This shows over a dozen male [[catkins]], in various stages of development. They hang from the end of branches, and can grow to 8 inches long.

Here are mature male flowers, starting to release their pollen. They're arranged on a chain of fused purple-tipped [[bracts]] with several male f ...