Talk:Heteromeles

Initial ratings for Wikiproject California set forth

I have attached a tag identifying this article as part of Wikiproject California and established initial ratings as follows:

• class:Start
• Based upon:
  • NPOV: Pass
  • References:Fair
  • Images:Fair
  • Breadth:Beyond stub, but needs more on range and ecological significance to approach GA
  • Wikification:Pass

• importance:Mid
  • Based upon the fact that this is a prominent native shrub fairly broadly distributed and associated with many other ecological interactions. Anlace 04:47, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Several book excerpts online mention this plant as California holly. Furthermore, it supposedly is the catalyst for the seasonal mass intoxication of robins. Anyone have any credible information to offer about this? 129.120.8.198 00:46, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

While it is certainly correct that the botany books always mention "California holly" as an alternate name, in modern usage it is only "toyon", at least that I've heard. The berries are small, bright red, prominent in December, and the leaves are slightly holly-like, so the name is obvious, even if increasingly obscure. It is also noted in books (and verified by original research) that a small flock of birds can strip the ripe berries from a bush very quickly. Perhaps the robins are more overloaded than drunk, but I haven't seen any studies on this. However I do recall that the local tribes are supposed to have brewed an cider from the cooked berries, so it may have be a natural progression. It may not take much to get a robin tipsy. -Willmcw 10:00, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

Agreed with Toyon as the best name to use; "California holly" implies it is a species of holly (Ilex), which it isn't - MPF 23:02, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

Christmasberry

An external reference (Collin's, I think) identifies the Christmasberry as Photinia arbutifolia, reinforcing the identification in this article as "Christmas berry" (two words). However, both Schinus and Boxthorn claim identity with "Christmas berry". What's the deal here - is this something regional maybe? I am not a botanist; I just tripped over this one in Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles. David Brooks 00:31, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Oh, what a flower

Can anybody say what the origin of the word toyon is? TREKphiler ^{hit me ♠} 10:18, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

"Etymology: AmSp, also tollon, prob. < Nahuatl name"[1]--Curtis Clark (talk) 02:41, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

(very belated *whew*) Thanx. TREKphiler ^{any time you're ready, Uhura} 02:33, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Toyon berries?

The berries in the photo look suspiciously like rowan berries. Is everyone sure this is really toyon? If you search for "toyon" on the Internet, the images that come up look slightly different. I am not a botanist, but even the leaves of the plant in the main picture look different from the leaves in the "Toyon berries" picture. Just wondering. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.89.103.13 (talk) 01:24, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Good catch! Yes, that does look like Sorbus. I wonder if it was the rootstock of a grafted tree whose top had died. i've removed the image, since I don't see a good substitute. Nadiatalent (talk) 13:44, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

File:Starr 021126-0031 Heteromeles arbutifolia.jpg: This file does not look like Heteromeles arbutifolia to me. The leaves are not serrated for one thing, and the berries are all wrong. If anyone thinks differently let me know, otherwise I'll post a note on the file's discussion page.   Will Beback  talk  20:21, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

The above image is definitely not H. arbuitfolia! Good catch. --NoahElhardt (talk) 04:00, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Strangely, it's identified on the source as Photinia davidiana Photinia.[2] Either the identification was fixed, or there was a mistake in the uploading process.   Will Beback  talk  06:40, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm confused. We're talking about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heteromeles_arbutifolia_fruit.jpg, no? I haven't figured out how to put comments on images, so if someone can enlighten me that would be a big help. Nadiatalent (talk) 13:18, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Oh, I didn't know that was the picture in question. I agree it looks mis-identified. The photographer is an active editor. I'll leave a note on his talk page.   Will Beback  talk  19:35, 16 February 2011 (UTC)