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Taxon  Report  
Forestiera pubescens  Nutt.
Desert olive,   Stretchberry
Forestiera pubescens is a shrub that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Forestiera
Family: Oleaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands

Habitat: slopes, ridges

Communities: Coastal Sage Scrub, Creosote Bush Scrub, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS + POWO
Alternate Names:
JEFForestiera neomexicana var. arizonica
JEFForestiera neomexicana var. neomexicana
JEFForestiera pubescens var. parviflora
Information about  Forestiera pubescens from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (FOPU2)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Common Names, Range: Forestiera pubescens, commonly known as stretchberry,[2] desert olive, tanglewood, devil's elbow, elbow bush, spring goldenglow, spring herald, New Mexico privet is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to the southwestern United States (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California) and northern Mexico. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 05/20/2025).