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toyon

 
Dictionary: toy·on
(toi'ŏn') pronunciation
n.
An evergreen Californian shrub (Heteromeles arbutifolia), having leathery leaves, small white flowers in large panicles, and red, fleshy, berrylike fruit. Also called Christmas berry.

[Spanish tollon, from Greek tolon.]


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Columbia Encyclopedia: Christmasberry
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Christmasberry or toyon ('yən), evergreen tree or shrub (Photinia arbutifolia) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), found on the Pacific coast of North America. Its white flowers are followed by bright red berries; with its handsome leaves, it is used on the Pacific coast as a Christmas green. It is also called California holly. Most other species of Photinia, sometimes cultivated, are native to Asia East. Christmasberry is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.


WordNet: Christmas berry
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: spiny evergreen shrub of southeastern United States having spreading branches usually blue or mauve flowers and red berries
  Synonyms: Christmasberry, Lycium carolinianum

Meaning #2: ornamental evergreen treelike shrub of United States Pacific coast having large white flowers and red berrylike fruits; often placed in genus Photinia
  Synonyms: toyon, tollon, Christmasberry, Heteromeles arbutifolia, Photinia arbutifolia


Wikipedia: Heteromeles
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Toyon

Toyon bush in habitat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Rosidae
(unranked): Eurosids I
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae[1]
Subfamily: Maloideae or Spiraeoideae[2]
Genus: Heteromeles
Species: H. arbutifolia
Binomial name
Heteromeles arbutifolia
(Lindl.) M.Roem.[3]
Synonyms

Heteromeles salicifolia
Photinia arbutifolia Lindl.

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia, (pronounced /ˌhɛtɨrɵˈmiːliːz ɑrˌbjuːtɨˈfoʊliə/;[4] more commonly pronounced /hɛtəˈrɒməliːz/ by California botanists) is a common perennial shrub native to California, USA and the extreme northwest of Mexico, from northern California to northern Baja California. It is the sole species of Heteromeles, but is closely related to the Asian genus Photinia, in which it is included by some botanists (it was originally described in that genus).

Fruiting branch

Toyon is a prominent component of the coastal sage scrub plant community, and is a part of drought-adapted chaparral and mixed oak woodland habitats.[5] It is also known by the common names Christmas berry and California holly.

Toyon typically grows from 2-5 m (rarely up 10 m in shaded conditions) and has a rounded to irregular top. Its leaves are evergreen, alternate, sharply toothed, have short petioles, and are 5-10 cm in length and 2-4 cm wide. In the early summer it produces small white flowers 6-10 mm diameter, in dense terminal corymbs. The five petals are rounded. They are visited by butterflies, and have a mild, hawthorn-like scent. The fruit is a small pome, 5-10 mm across, bright red and berry-like, produced in large quantities, maturing in the fall and persisting well into the winter. The fruit are consumed by birds, including mockingbirds, American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, as well as mammals including coyote and bear. The seeds are dispersed by such wildlife.

Contents

Traditional uses

The berries provided food for local Native American tribes, such as Chumash, Tongva, and Tataviam. Toyon berries are acidic and astringent, and contain a small amount of cyanogenic glycosides, which break down into hydrocyanic acid on digestion. This is removed by mild cooking.

Some berries, though mealy, astringent and acid when raw, were eaten fresh, or mashed into water to make a beverage. Most were dried and stored, then later cooked into porridge or pancakes. Later settlers added sugar to make custard and wine.

The berries also can be made into a jelly. Native Americans also made a tea from the leaves as a stomach remedy; they also used the leaves and berries for dyes, and the very hard, close-grained wood for various purposes.

Cultivation

Toyon can be grown in domestic gardens in well drained soil, and is cultivated as an ornamental plant as far north as Southern England. It can survive temperatures as low as -12°C[citation needed]. The bush is handsome all year round and the bright red berries in winter are a special reward (even if birds eat them all the first day they ripen). It is susceptible to fireblight[citation needed]. It survives on little water, making it suitable for xeriscape gardening, and is less of a fire hazard than some chaparral plants[citation needed].

Legislation

In the 1920s, collecting toyon branches for Christmas became so popular in Los Angeles, California that the State of California passed a law forbidding collecting on public land[citation needed]. Some[weasel words] believe that Hollywood, California derives its name from the numerous "California Holly" bushes which cover the Hollywood Hills, but the origin of Hollywood's name cannot be confirmed.

References

Line notes

  1. ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network, 1910
  2. ^ Potter, D., et al. (2007). Phylogeny and classification of Rosaceae. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 266(1–2): 5–43.
  3. ^ Jepson Flora Project, 1993
  4. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  5. ^ C.M. Hogan, 2008

 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Heteromeles" Read more