| Toyon |
| Heteromeles arbutifolia |
| Family: Rosaceae (Rose) |
Flowers:
| color | white |
| style | five |
Toyon's flower has five white petals that appear in large clusters.
Habit:
The clusters of bright red berries immediately draw attention. Toyon is a large shrub or small tree, capable of reaching thirty feet tall. Calscape.com says that Toyon may grow ten feet in three years. The elliptic [long, narrow, rounded, pointed] leaf, about two inches long, has light-colored vein and ribs. The leaf edges have many sharp teeth angling forwards.
The legend says that a real estate developer created the name "Hollywoodland" for a red-berried shrub growing near the film capital of the world. Those red berries are craved by birds and mammals. Humans need to process or cook to eleminate small amounts of cyanide.
Observations:
In other regions, Toyon grows in the scrub and chaparral, but in BMER I've only noticed it as part of the understory on the oak woodlands around Hidden Lake. Also seen in La Purisima State Historic Park.