Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Toyon is also known as California Holly, and its historical abundance in the Los Angeles basin is widely believed to have inspired the name 'Hollywood'.
- Scientific name
- Heteromeles arbutifolia
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Rosales › Rosaceae › Heteromeles
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Chaparral, oak woodlands, and coastal sage scrub
- Diet
- Producer (Photosynthesis)
- Range
- California, USA, Baja California, Mexico
- Size
- 2 to 5 meters (6 to 15 feet) tall
- Lifespan
- 100 to 200 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Urban development, climate change, sudden oak death, and overly frequent wildfires.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Safe to approach and touch. Avoid ingesting raw berries or leaves in large quantities, as they contain cyanogenic glycosides; indigenous peoples roasted or boiled them to remove toxins.
Heteromeles arbutifolia (/ˌhɛtɪroʊˈmiːliːz ɑːrˌbjuːtɪˈfoʊliə/; more commonly /ˌhɛtəˈrɒməliːz/ by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon , is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, Baja California, and British Columbia. It is the sole species in the genus Heteromeles .
Photo: Skyler K, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/d75e6ed7-4a6e-4e60-8784-a6a7a292bdba.md