Forestiera pubescens (Stretchberry)

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Forestiera pubescens Nutt.

Stretchberry, desert olive, tanglewood, devil's elbow, elbow bush, spring goldenglow, spring herald, New Mexico privet, Texas forsythia

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Oleaceae	Temperate climate shrubs, trees and a few vines, include forsythia, ash, jasmine, privet, olive, lilac, and many others
Genus	Forestiera	Probably named for Parisian physician and botany teacher Robert Forestier (1736-1812)
Species	pubescens	With soft, downy hair

About plant names...

New Mexico privet is native to much of the American southwest. It prefers rocky limestone uplands, but is found in other habitats as well.

Plants: These shrubs are deciduous, roughly round in shape, and 3-10' (91-304 cm) in size. The bark is tan to gray in color.

Leaves: Simple, mostly opposite or in clusters. Leaves are elliptic or lanceolate to ovate, and leatherlike. They are ¼-1¾" (9-48 mm) × ¾-1¼" (2.2-3.1 cm) in size, with smooth edges or minute crenate teeth.

Flowers: Male (staminate) flowers are about ⅛" (3 mm) in size, and yellow-greenish, aging reddish; while female (pistillate) flowers, ⅛" (4 mm) in sizel, are greenish, aging orangish. Branchlets have 3, 5, or 7 flowers. Flowers appear prior to leaves, and have no odor.

Fruits: Elliptic (roughly ollive-shaped), ⅛-³/₁₆" (4.5-5.8 mm) × ⅛-³/₁₆" (4-5.2 mm), purple-black in color, and covered with a waxy bloom.

Edibility:

Medical:

Online References:

Landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu

Calflora

W3.biosci.utexas.edu

5/22/2009 · Wupatki National Monument, Arizona
≈ 3½ × 5½' (1.1 × 1.7 m)

8/27/2014 · Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
≈ 15 × 10" (37 × 25 cm)

8/27/2014 · Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
≈ 19 × 12" (47 × 31 cm)

Forestiera pubescens description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 9 Aug 2023.

8/27/2014 · Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
≈ 13 × 10" (32 × 25 cm)

Range:

About this map...