Description

Leaves: Alternate; once pinnately compound; deciduous; 3 leaflets; dark green; strong odor when crushed; shiny.

Twigs/buds: Twigs slender; round; dark brown; shiny.  No terminal bud; lateral buds small, hairy.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers polygamo-monoecious, greenish-white, small, fragrant; held in dense clusters; appear in mid-May to early June.  Fruit a two-seeded samara that resembles hops or an elm samara; round; 1/2" to 1" diameter; held in drooping clusters that persist after leaves fall; bitter tasting.

Bark: Dark gray to gray-brown; fairly smooth to warty.

Wood: Heavy; hard; ring-porous; not important.

General: Native from western Texas, west to California, and northern Mexico, including southern Utah.  Thought by some to be a variant of an eastern U.S. species, Ptelea trifoliata var. angustifolia.  Typically found on rocky slopes at the edge of wooded areas.  Intermediate shade tolerance.

Landscape Use: Seldom if ever planted in cultivated landscapes.  Small and generally shrubby.  Likely fairly drought tolerant and able to withstand harsh soils conditions.  Zones 3-9.

Characteristics