Please help me to identify this plant.

[Vince Sartain]

I have been trying for months to Identify this shrub that was dug up and given to me years ago. It has been in the ground at my house for probably 15 years and only stands about 24 inches high and wide. I have never see it flower or fruit. It has long arching branches with short side branchlets that are very stiff similar to a cotoneaster. Any help in identifying would be much appreciated!

 

[Cruiser]

Not sure, but maybe we could solve this..

Any particular scent to crushed leaves or scraped stems?
What does the leaf underside look like? Is it hairy?
Does it lose its leaves in winter?
Is it growing in a shady location?

What do the buds look like?
What does its bark look like?
How about leaf scars?
Is there any old fruit/seeds/spent flowers/anything of interest in the soil/detritus underneath the bush?

Are there any of these plants growing naturally in your area? How about in anyone else’s yard? If neighbors have them they might know.

 

[Vince Sartain]

Virtually no scent to the crushed leaves or scraped bark.
Underside of leaf is virtually hairless, perhaps microscopically haired.
It is evergreen at least here in Southern California.
I have had it in full sun for years as well as 60-75% shade for years with no real perseived difference. Perhaps a little shorter internodes when grown in full sun.
No sign of any kind of flower or fruit residue around or in the plant.
I have lived in this same town for all of my 60 years and have never seen another plant like it, and I have always been a plant lover especially trees.

As I said it was given to my about 15-20 years ago after having been dug up in my friends parents yard here is Southern California. It was a small hedge of about 4 bushes at the time. The original owners had no idea at the time of what the plant was.
I have tried 5 or 6 different phone plant identification apps to no avail and combed through many many plant books as well as online searches.. They all come up with Hawthorn as the only identification. But I have yet to come across any online photo of a Hawthorn that looks like it or that is evergreen or as small as it is.
It does propagate by fairly large cuttings very easy even without the use of a rooting hormone or a humidification aid. Basically I have just taken cuttings and stuck them in some coarse potting soil and watered them daily along with my other bonsai.

I do believe it would make fairly nice bonsai material and am just now getting serious enough about the hobby to tackle as such but would love to know what it actually is. I get the feeling somebody is going to look at it and say, oh that's easy, its a common ???. But it's not common around here. I will attach some more photos.

Thank you for your interest, any help would be much appreciated!

 

[nuttiest]

try looking up mock orange seems similar species or sumac

 

[Vince Sartain]

Thank you for your input, but honestly I don’t see a similarity in either the mock orange or the sumac to this unknown species. If you are seeing a close resemblance somewhere please post a photo or link.

 

[RobGA]

Virtually no scent to the crushed leaves or scraped bark.
Underside of leaf is virtually hairless, perhaps microscopically haired.
It is evergreen at least here in Southern California.
I have had it in full sun for years as well as 60-75% shade for years with no real perseived difference. Perhaps a little shorter internodes when grown in full sun.

Could it be wild lime? Zanthoxylum

 

[Vince Sartain]

I’m not seeing any resemblance to Zanthoxylum. If you have a specific image or link please post it so we can take a look.

 

[bonsaiDerek]

take a picture of it for google lens, its pretty good with trees

 

[RobGA]

I’m not seeing any resemblance to Zanthoxylum. If you have a specific image or link please post it so we can take a look.

 

[dr.tenebris]

take a picture of it for google lens, its pretty good with trees

I already tried to do this to help, it was useless, nothing close to the leaf pattern emerged.

I have been trying for months to Identify this shrub that was dug up and given to me years ago. It has been in the ground at my house for probably 15 years and only stands about 24 inches high and wide. I have never see it flower or fruit. It has long arching branches with short side branchlets that are very stiff similar to a cotoneaster. Any help in identifying would be much appreciated!

Maybe take it to a nursery and see if someone there can identify?

 

[19Mateo83]

The secret to this one is the winged rachis. Possibly Opperculicarya Decaryi (elephant tree)

 

[Vince Sartain]

The secret to this one is the winged rachis. Possibly Opperculicarya Decaryi (elephant tree)

Yes, you're correct but that’s not the plant we’re trying to identify. That’s a photo RobGA posted as a possible. But it’s not it.

 

[19Mateo83]

Or possibly Schinus Terebinthifolius (Brazilian peppertree). Fairly common in southern cali.

Schinus terebinthifolius - Brazilian Peppertree

The Brazilian Peppertree is a small evergreen tree or large shrub, generally single stemmed to about 25-30' tall and rounded, quite symmetri...

treesofsantacruzcounty.blogspot.com

 

[Vince Sartain]

Or possibly Schinus Terebinthifolius (Brazilian peppertree). Fairly common in southern cali.

Schinus terebinthifolius - Brazilian Peppertree

The Brazilian Peppertree is a small evergreen tree or large shrub, generally single stemmed to about 25-30' tall and rounded, quite symmetri...

treesofsantacruzcounty.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, No. I have lots of Brazilian pepper volunteer seedlings coming up in the yard. I am quite familiar with them.

 

[nuttiest]

Rhus trilobata | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University

landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu

 

[Vince Sartain]

View attachment 531130

Rhus trilobata | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University

landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu

Unfortunately I don’t think this is the right species. Rhus have a distinct smell when the leaves are crushed and the plant in question has virtually no smell at all when crushed.

 

[Paradox]

No clue but I love a good mystery.

We have this sort of thing happen at work when someone finds a sea creature they can't ID and an email gets sent to us to identify it.

Hope someone can figure it out

 

[Srt8madness]

...

 

[Snorlax99]

Maybe Texas Ebony?

 

[Lutonian]

Ebenopsis confinis dog shite tree? native to cali and related to texas ebony