Biorepository Data Portal

Hawksworth 1993, Kearney and Peebles 1969, Martin and Hutchins 1980

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Aerial parasitic shrub usually found on Quercus, with shoots to 1 m, mostly short pubescent, gray-green, with internodes 2-3 cm long. Leaves: Obovate-elliptic to circular, 1.5-3 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, densely pubescent. Flowers: Inflorescence a staminate spike with 2-3 fertile segments, each with 25-40 flowers in 3 rows per segment; pistillate spikes have 2-3 fertile segments, each with 25-40 flowers in 3 rows per segment; flowers pubescent. Fruits: White, berrylike, short hairy around the persistent perianth segments, about 3 mm in diameter. Ecology: Found on Quercus, Condalia, Berberis, Vaquelinia, and Sideroxylon in oak woodlands below the Mogollon Rim from 4,000-9,000 ft (1219-2743 m); flowers July-September. Notes: Distinguished not only by its host plant but also by its wide pubescent leaves, usually more than 1 cm in width. The species name is possibly changing to P. serotinum subsp. tomentosum. Stay tuned. Ethnobotany: Unknown but other species in the genera have uses. Etymology: Phoradendron is from Greek phor, a thief and dendron, tree-hence tree thief because of its parasitism, while coryae is of uncertain orgin. Synonyms: Phoradendron villosum subsp. coryae Editor: SBuckley, 2010