PlantHere

Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus montanus
native · Hill Country

Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany is a tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 8–20 ft tall and 20 ft wide. It wants full sun and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms white in late spring. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Good for butterflies and moths.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

The facts

4 sources
Type
Tree
Sun
Full sun (6–8 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Low
Height
8–20 ft
Spread
20 ft
Bloom
Late Spring · white
Foliage
Evergreen
Soil
Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, loam, sand, well drained
Wildlife
Supports browsing mammals, butterflies, deer and moths

Where it grows

Recorded in this EPA Level IV ecoregion in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Edwards Plateau Woodland

1 occurrence record in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.