[For Nicholas Garry, 1782–1856, deputy-governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1822–1835, diarist of his 1821 travels in the Northwest Territories, friend and benefactor of David Douglas] [For Nicholas Garry, 1782–1856, deputy-governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1822–1835, diarist of his 1821 travels in the Northwest Territories, friend and benefactor of David Douglas]

Shrubs or trees. Leaves: blade flat to concave-convex, coriaceous, margins entire, flat, revolute, or strongly undulate. Inflorescences axillary, aments; bracts opposite, distinct or connate basally; bracteoles 0. Pedicels: staminate present, pistillate absent. Staminate flowers: sepals 4, <valvate in bud, apically connivent by intertwined hairs>, linear to lanceolate-oblong; petals 0; nectary absent or vestigial; stamens alternate with sepals, anthers basifixed. Pistillate flowers: sepals 2, sometimes rudimentary; petals 0; nectary absent; ovules 2; styles 2(–3), erect or recurved, linear-lanceolate; stigmas decurrent on adaxial surfaces of styles. Fruits berries, dark blue to black, drying whitish-gray, subglobose to ovoid, fleshy, becoming brittle. Seeds (1–)2 per fruit. x = 11.

Species 17 (8 in the flora): w, sc United States, Mexico, West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica), Central America; some cultivated.

Two sections of Garrya have been recognized (see key below). Species of sect. Garrya range from Washington to Baja California and New Mexico, with one outlier in Guatemala, G. corvorum Standley & Steyermark. Section Fadyenia de Candolle ranges from trans-Pecos Texas to Arizona and from Mexico (including Baja California) to Central America plus the West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica). In addition to the features noted in the key, in sect. Garrya pistillate flowers bear a pair of small appendages at the ovary apex near the style base, whereas in sect. Fadyenia pistillate flowers occasionally produce two foliaceous bracts partially adnate to the ovary. The phylogenetic distinction between the two sections has been confirmed by D. O. Burge (2011).

The staminate flowers in pendulous aments of Garrya are similar to those in other genera specialized for wind-pollination. The staminate aments are more flexible than the pistillate and more responsive to wind currents. P. A. Munz (1959) noted that in California many of the species intergrade extensively where their distributions overlap, and hybridization and intraspecific variation underlie continuing uncertainty about delimitations of taxa. Natural hybrids, however, have not been reported elsewhere. The artificial hybrids G. ×issaquahensis Talbot de Malahide ex E. C. Nelson (G. elliptica × G. fremontii) and G. ×thuretii Carrière (G. elliptica × G. fadyenii Hooker) have been bred for garden planting.

The common name silktassel alludes to the sericeous vestiture of the long, showy aments in sect. Garrya. Plants are cultivated mainly for the foliage and showy staminate aments, and cultivars are mostly staminate plants propagated from cuttings.

Stem extracts of Garrya laurifolia Bentham are toxic but are used as an antidiarrhetic throughout rural Mexico, and bark extracts were reportedly used by Native Americans to treat fever (G. V. Dahling 1978).

SELECTED REFERENCES Burge, D. O. 2011. Molecular phylogenetics of Garrya (Garryaceae). Madroño 58: 249–255. Dahling, G. V. 1978. Systematics and evolution of Garrya. Contr. Gray Herb. 209: 1–104. Eyde, R. H. 1964. Inferior ovary and generic affinities of Garrya. Amer. J. Bot. 51: 1083–1092. Liston, A. 2003. A new interpretation of floral morphology in Garrya (Garryaceae). Taxon 52: 271–276.

Lower Taxa

• Garrya buxifolia A. Gray
• Garrya elliptica Douglas ex Lindley
• Garrya flavescens S. Watson
• Garrya fremontii Torrey
• Garrya goldmanii Wooton & Standley
• Garrya lindheimeri Torrey
• Garrya veatchii Kellogg
• Garrya wrightii Torrey