Now used for soil stabilization, will sucker along roots and tie-up a bank area. It's very drought tolerant. It grows in drier areas of Coast and Sierras. Associated plants range from Pinus Sabiniana with Arctostaphylos viscida, Rhamnus ilicifolia, Rhus trilobata, Quercus wislizensii, Cercocarpus betuloides, Ceanothus cuneatus and Quercus douglasii. In drainage channels it will many times be associated with Populus and Platanus.
Soils are usually fast draining and can very from rocky granite to coarse sand.
It suffers die-back but has plenty of suckers to carry it.