Kingdom Plantae Family Rhamnaceae Rank Species | Order Rosales Genus Colubrina | |
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Similar Colubrina californica, Colubrina, Colubrina elliptica, Colubrina oppositifolia, Ceanothus greggii | ||
Colubrina greggii is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, that is commonly known as the Sierra nakedwood or Gregg's colubrina. It is native to the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States, eastern Mexico, and Guatemala. It is very similar to C. arborescens of Southern Florida and the Caribbean, and herbarium specimens of the two species are difficult to distinguish.
Description
C. greggii is a shrub 2–3 m in height or a small tree, reaching 5 m. Stems are densely pubescent. Leaves are alternately arranged, simple, ovate to lanceolate-ovate or elliptic-ovate, and have finely toothed margins. The blades measure 6–18 cm in length and 3–8 cm in width. The inflorescence is a thyrse with 20-80 flowers. Peduncles measure 5–12 mm in length. The flowers are greenish-yellow, with stamens opposite the spoon-shaped petals. Flowering takes place in the summer and fall. The fruit is a hard, globose capsule approximately 7 mm in diameter, on which calyx remnants form an equatorial ring.