Stats

Lifespan: 50-100 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Chaparral shrubland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

An evergreen shrub native to dry chaparral slopes of Southern California, Arizona, and Baja California. Its red berries are coated with a sweet-tart waxy resin — the source of its common name — and were historically used by Indigenous peoples to brew a lemonade-like drink.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Rhus
Species: Rhus ovata