bush chinquapin Fagaceae Chrysolepis sempervirens

Leaf:Alternate, simple, evergreen, elliptical to oblanceolate, to 3 inches long, leathery, margins entire, smooth and green to yellow-green above, rusty to golden pubescent below; tip is blunt or rounded.
Flower:Species is monoecious; both sexes borne in erect aments (catkins), male flowers are numerous, erect, elongated aments, creamy white; odorous; female flowers are much smaller and green, clustered at the base of the male flowers or on separate catkins; appearing in late summer.
Fruit:One (usually) to 3 small triangular nuts enclosed in a sharp, spiny 1 inch bur; burs may be clustered; ripening in late summer, after 2 growing seasons.
Twig:Slender and initially yellow but turning reddish brown with age; pith is yellow and star-shaped; terminal buds are clustered near the tip.
Bark:Smooth, thin, grayish brown.
Form:Multistemmed and root suckering shrub, to 10 feet tall.

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