Chrysolepis sempervirens, a dicot, is a shrub that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Bush chinquapin occurs in mountainous regions of California and southern Oregon. It is distributed along the Pacific Coast from the San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains north through the Coast Ranges to southwestern Oregon. Eastward it is distributed through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range to south-central Oregon. Giant chinquapin has a shrub form that is difficult to distinguish from bush chinquapin, and there is some confusion as to the exact distribution of each. Bush chinquapin is a common codominant of montane chaparral. Occurring at higher elevations than other types of chaparral, montane chaparral consists of low-growing, often dense thickets of sclerophyllous shrubs in the coniferous forest zone. Forest cover is lacking, usually due to removal of trees by fire or logging.
Bush chinquapin also occurs in pure stands. These are not extensive in montane chaparral but are common in alpine zones. Bush chinquapin often dominates or codominates the understories of
mid-seral coniferous forests adjacent to montane chaparral.
Bush chinquapin is a monecious, native, evergreen, schlerophyllous
shrub. It may grow up to 8 feet (2.5 m) tall but is typically from
1 to 5 feet (0.3-1.5 m) in height. Plants have a prostrate to
spreading, round-topped growth form
