Pistillate Flowers |
Staminate Flowers |
I started my first plants from seed, and although the deer ate the first batch of seedlings, they have since left established plants alone, nor do they browse the volunteers at the base of larger plants, or in moist areas where birds have carried the seeds.
The common name 'silktassel,' long a mystery to me, is obviously based on other Garrya species such as California's Garrya elliptica, as described in the Native Son plant page's annotated catalogue:
Male plants produce long, showy catkins 3-8". Female plants with shorter catkins becoming as long as 6" in fruit.Comparison of the above flowers with a drawing of G. elliptica (TREES OF STANFORD) reveals a striking similarity in flower structure. A photo of its inflorescence (The University of California Botanical Garden) more clearly demonstrates the name 'silk tassel.'
Texas A&M provides maps of the Texas Garryas, although at this writing, the maps for the two subspecies of Garrya ovata are switched - i.e., only ssp lindheimeri occurs on the Edwards Plateau.