Heteromeles

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Heteromeles arbutifolia (Template:IPAc-en,<ref>Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607</ref> more commonly Template:IPAc-en by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a perennial shrub native to Coastal California. It is the sole species in the genus Heteromeles.

Description

Toyon typically grows from Template:Convert, 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 Template:Convert in length and Template:Convert wide. In the early summer it produces small white flowers Template:Convert diameter in dense terminal corymbs. Flowering peaks in June.<ref>Heteromeles arbutifolia at iNaturalist</ref>

The five petals are rounded. The fruit is a small pome,<ref name=Jepson1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 5–10 mm across, bright red and berry-like, produced in large quantities, maturing in the fall and persisting well into the winter.Template:Citation needed

Taxonomy

The genera Photinia, Aronia, Pourthiaea, and Stranvaesia have historically been variously combined by different taxonomists.<ref name="Nesom">Template:Citation</ref> 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.<ref name="Nesom" /> This has since been corrected by conservation,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and the name is therefore often written as Heteromeles M. Roem. nom. cons. (1847).Template:Citation needed

Varieties

  • Heteromeles arbutifolia var. arbutifolia (Lindl.) M.Roem. – Autonym
  • Heteromeles arbutifolia var. cerina (Jeps.) A.E.Murray – Representative of the yellow fruiting specimens of the plant. Sporadic in distribution, and not accepted by most taxonomical authorities.<ref name="FNA" />
  • Heteromeles arbutifolia var. macrocarpa (Munz) Munz (Island Christmas berry or island toyon) – A very rare insular variety limited to the Channel Islands of San Clemente and Santa Catalina and the Mexican Pacific island of Guadalupe.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>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.</ref> Characterized by shorter, broader, significantly larger leaves with revolute margins and little teeth, and floriferous inflorescences with larger fruits (8 to 10 mm).<ref name="FNA" /> It is more susceptible to fungal infections of Spilocaea than the common toyon.<ref>Raabe, R. D., & Gardner, M. W. (1972). Scab of Pyracantha, loquat, toyon, and kageneckia. Phytopathology, 62, 914-916.</ref>
File:Heteromeles arbutifolia 02.jpg
Growing in Contra Costa County, California

Distribution and habitat

File:Heteromeles arbutifolia 03.jpg
Plant fruiting on Mount Diablo, Contra Costa County

It is native to extreme southwest Oregon,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> California, and the Baja California Peninsula.<ref name=PhippsHA/>

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.<ref>C.M. Hogan, 2008</ref> It is also known by the common names Christmas berry<ref name=FNA>Template:Citation</ref> and California holly.

Ecology

The plants 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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Mammals including coyotes and bears also eat and disperse the pomes.Template:Citation needed

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most fruits from plants in the family Rosaceae, including apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, and plums, contain cyanide.<ref name="toyonalzheimers2016M" />

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.<ref name="toyonalzheimers2016M" />

Uses

File: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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The plants were also often cooked over a fire to remove the slightly bitter taste by Californian tribes.Template:R

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.Template:R The ʔívil̃uqaletem also called the plant ashwet. They often consumed the fruit both raw and cooked.Template:R

Phytochemistry

The plant has been used as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease 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.<ref name="toyonalzheimers2016M" />

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 Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed In winter, the bright red pomes (which birds often eat voraciously) are showy.Template:Citation needed

Like many other genera in the Rosaceae tribe Maleae, toyon includes some cultivars that are susceptible to fireblight.<ref>Austin Hagan, Edward Sikora, William Gazaway, Nancy Kokalis- Burelle, 2004. Fire Blight on Fruit Trees and Woody Ornamentals, Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities</ref> It survives on little water, making it suitable for xeriscape gardening, and is less of a fire hazard than some chaparral plants.<ref>Dave's Garden</ref>

In culture

In 1921,<ref>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.</ref> 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).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>California Penal Code Section 384a Template:Webarchive</ref>

Toyon was adopted as the official native plant of the city of Los Angeles by the LA City Council on April 17, 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

References

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