The handles of Navaho distaffs are made of this wood probably because it does not splinter easily. The fact that it's actually a part of the rose family is just one of its remarkable traits. mountain mahogany community. Other Common Names: Curlleaf mountain mahogany, desert mountain mahogany, curlleaf mahogany Native to: The Western United States and Baja California USDA Zones: 5-9 Height: Anywhere from 3-35' tall depending on Cercocarpus, commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of at least nine species of nitrogen-fixing flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae.They are native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow in chaparral and semidesert habitats and climates, often at high altitudes. The mountain mahogany loses its leaves during the hot, dry season to conserve water. (Rosaceae) [83,86,102,105,113,228]. Except … The Navahos use the twigs with their white flowers as prayer sticks. Several are found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregi The strain of being uplifted has cracked the rocks and the water in those cracks is sought out by the roots of the Juniper and Mountain Mahogany. curlleaf mahogany desert mountain mahogany TAXONOMY: The scientific name of curlleaf mountain-mahogany is Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt. Click this article for more information on how to grow a mountain mahogany plant and its noteworthy characteristics. Animal And Plant Life Bighorn sheep graze on Mountain Mahogany and are often spotted here along with desert cottontail rabbits and an occasional coyote. . Curl-Leaf Mountain Mahogany is a high-elevation evergreen found throughout Utah and the western U.S. Mountain mahogany shrubs are plants in the rose family, and there are 10 species native to North America. True mountain mahogany showed copper concentration (x=28.9 ppm) high enough to approach toxic levels for some herbivores.