Heteromeles Arbutifolia

Photographs

My Photos:

The photo on the left is from Caspers Wilderness Park in January. The plant was growing in the streambed in Bell Canyon.

Click on the thumbnail above to see a photo of a mature plant that was growing on a hillside above Bell Canyon, from the same trip. It was about 8 feet high and 12 feet wide.

More photos:

Calflora images Photos of the plant in flower including closeups.

click photo to enlarge

Plant Information

Rosaceae

In the garden:

Heteromeles arbutifolia is an evergreen has 4 inch leathery leaves with spiny edges. It produces clusters of small white flowers in summer, followed by a pome of red berries in the winter. These berries are quite showy and attractive to the birds. Bees are also attracted to this plant. It can be pruned to form a small single-trunked tree. Toyon improves under cultivation - if trimmed to develop an abundance of year old wood, it will produce even more berries than in the wild. It looks good year-round. Once established, it requires no summer water except in desert areas, where some summer water is required. It will also thrive with some summer water in a well drained soil. It requires good drainage as it is prone to root rot and leaf fungus. It is a fire retardant if kept moist. It likes either full sun or partial shade. In the landscape, it is excellent in a shrubby border or on a hillside. It is also valuable as a screen and for erosion control.

The Toyon is propagated from seed which germinates readily when fresh. Older seed requires three-months stratification. Plants may be held in containers for the first year and then planted out in the second autumn. They will begin to flower and fruit after the third year. Toyon is sometimes propogated by tip cuttings taken in late summer when wood is partially hardened.

In the wild:

Heteromeles arbutifolia is widely distributed in foothills and low mountains up to 4,000 feet; central Nevada foothills, in the Coast Ranges from Shasta to Humbolt Counties, south to San Diego County, Channel Islands, and Lower California. It inhabits open woodlands, canyons, rocky slopes, and typical chaparral regions. Within this wide range of habitats plants are variable in size and growth habit, being low and dense in exposed places, becoming open and rangy, or tree-like when growing in wooded areas. During years of abundant fruit crops, the bright berries enliven woods and chaparrals, providing one of California's typical autumn and winter scenes.

Ethnobotany:

Toyon berries are a versatile food, used raw, roasted, dried, or boiled. They were used to make a tasty cider, enjoyed by the Native people as well as by the early settlers. Natives cooked the berries by tossing them in baskets with hot pebbles or wood coals, thus roasting them to a palatable stage. Spanish settlers are reported to have made a pudding of the berries by baking with sugar in a slow oven. Another method was boiling the berries for a few minutes, then wrapping in a moist cloth and setting in a warm place until done. The leaves, flowers and bark were used medicinally by native people. The berries produce a dye, and thw ood was used for tools

It is said to be common knowledge that Hollywood got its name from the abundance of holly-berry (Toyon) plants in the hills of that area.

Heteromeles Arbutifolia (Toyon)