# 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'.

- **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.

## About

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 .

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/d75e6ed7-4a6e-4e60-8784-a6a7a292bdba
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53405
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteromeles
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/459761597/medium.jpg (Skyler K, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.