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Art by Audrey Carver • Arte por Audrey Carver.

My Kumeyaay name is

Mi nombre Kumiai es

Joalj

HEAR MY NAME

ESCUCHA MI NOMBRE

I'm also known as

También se me conoce como

Laurel sumac

Lentisco

Malosma laurina

Learn more about me • Más información sobre mí

I am a shrub with waxy leaves. My stems and the edges of my leaves are bright red, and in June and July I have bunches of small white flowers that smell fruity and herbal. Like many other shrubs from Southern California, I benefit from good fire and can resprout from my roots if I burn aboveground. My roots can reach down over 40 feet to find groundwater, which helps me to survive droughts. While I am resilient, I am vulnerable to the prolonged drought and heat waves that we expect in this region with a changing climate.

Soy un arbusto con hojas cerosas. Mis tallos y los bordes de mis hojas son de un rojo brillante, y en junio y julio tengo racimos de pequeñas flores blancas que huelen a frutas y hierbas. Como muchos otros arbustos del sur de California, me beneficio del buen fuego y puedo rebrotar de mis raíces si quemo sobre el suelo. Mis raíces pueden llegar a más de 40 pies para encontrar agua subterránea, lo que me ayuda a sobrevivir a las sequías. Aunque soy resistente, soy vulnerable a la sequía prolongada y las olas de calor que esperamos en esta región con un clima cambiante.

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