Shrub to 2 m (6 ft) tall. Dioecious, flowers small and clustered, in early Spring before the leaves appear. Fruits elliptic purple or black drupes, 5-7 mm (0.2-0.3 in) long, ripening in late Spring or early Summer. Leaves ovate, elliptic, or obovate; sparsely to densely pubescent; 1.3-3.7 cm (0.5-1.5 in) long, 0.7-2 cm (0.3-0.8 in) wide; margins obscurely serrate to crenate, petioles 1-3 mm (0.06-0.16 in) long.
Habitat: Most abundant in rocky limestone uplands (in Oklahoma), but not restricted to that habitat.
Distribution: Native to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah.
NWI status: none
Comment: Forestiera is named in honor of Charles Le Forestier, a seventeenth century French physician and botanist; pubescens refers to the soft-hairy leaves.
Distribution in Oklahoma:
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Last update: 9/10/99
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