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Adolphia californica
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California Adolphia
( Adolphia californica )
Adolphia californica
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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9 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About California Adolphia (Adolphia californica)
9 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Adolphia californica
is a species of flowering shrub in the Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn) family known by the common names California Adlophin, Prickbush and Spineshrub. It is native to Baja California and California no farther north than San Diego County. Because of its limited distribution it is included on CNPS list 2B.1. It is a resident of the local chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities. This is a branching shrub not exceeding a meter in height with thick hairless to fuzzy dark green twigs. The stiff twigs bear sharp thorns. The very sparse leaves are each less than a centimeter long and oval-shaped with a pointed or rounded tip. The shrub blooms abundantly in clusters of flowers along all the branches. Each flower is a star-shaped bowl of five pointed cream-colored sepals. Between the sepals are five tiny spoon-shaped cream-colored petals. The fruit is a spherical capsule about half a centimeter across. It is not often used in gardens due to its formidable spines, but it is valuable in restoration projects in it native range.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Shrub
Size
3.3 ft tall
5 ft wide
Form
Mounding
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous
Flower Color
Cream
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun
Moisture
Very Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 9
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 25° F
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium
Soil Description
Typically sandy
Common uses
Bank Stabilization
Companion Plants
Use with other plants of the San Diego shrublands including
Toyon
(
Heteromeles arbutifolia
), Lemonadeberry (
Rhus integrifolia
), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos and
Xylococcus species
),
Ceanothus species
,
Milkweed
(
Asclepias species
),
Giant Wild Rye
(
Elymus condensatus
), Sand Aster (
Corethrogyne filaginifolia
), Sagebrush (
Artemisia californica
), Monkeyflower (
Mimulus species
),
Encelia californica
,
Woolly Bluecurls
(
Trichostema lanatum
),
Buckwheat
(
Eriogonum species
),
Heartleaf Keckiella
(
Keckiella cordifolia
),
Penstemon
species,
Salvia species
,
Blue-eyed Grass
(
Sisyrinchium bellum
).
Propagation
?
For propagating by seed: No treatment. ( Emery and Frey 1971).
Natural Setting
Site Type
Semi-arid marine terraces, bluffs, canyons and slopes of San Diego County
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 9.9" - 14.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.21" - 0.36", Coldest Month: 49.3" - 54.8", Hottest Month: 69.3" - 77.1", Humidity: 1.25" - 20.52", Elevation: 7" - 888"
Alternative Names
Common Names
: California Adlophin, California Prickbush, Spineshrub
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California Adolphia
Adolphia californica
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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