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Stretchberry appears on several regional Firewise lists, but it does not yet have a clear primary fire-resistance verdict.
The case in its favor comes from three Southwestern recommendations. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension lists Forestiera neomexicana as FIREWISE plant material above 3,000 feet. Its Yavapai County extension service also names the species among fire-resistant plants, while warning that such plants resist ignition only when irrigated and maintained; they are not fireproof. New Mexico’s Forestry Division includes it as New Mexico olive among FireWise trees and large shrubs, recommending it from 4,000 through 7,000 feet, marking 8,000 feet unknown or doubtful, and not recommending it at 9,000 feet or higher.
A Texas Firewise group adds limited support by rating elbowbush, Forestiera pubescens, low for flammability hazard, meaning it is less apt to burn at high temperatures for a prolonged time. That finding concerns another Forestiera species, however, so it should not be treated as a direct rating of stretchberry.
The practical reading is cautiously favorable within the places and conditions the sources name. Stretchberry has credible regional support as a Firewise choice, especially at the stated Southwestern elevations and with irrigation and maintenance, but those recommendations do not amount to a general finding that the tree resists fire everywhere or under neglect.
Form
tree
Rated in
Arizona above 3,000 feet / interior Southwest; Georgetown, Texas; New Mexico; Yavapai County, Arizona
On this lot
1. Fire evidence and conditions
Fire evidence
Mixed evidence — location does not change the cited classification.
New Mexico Forestry Division publishes this as its FireWise Plant List for New Mexico. FireApproved accounts for all 140 printed rows and publishes 95 exact same-rank owners already represented in the directory; 29 exact taxa without an existing record, 14 unresolved spellings or higher-rank matches, one compound taxon cell, and one species row whose only apparent owner has an infraspecific printed identity remain held. Every published row retains the source's Y, N, ?, or blank elevation cells. Publication scope does not erase those elevation limits or establish suitability for every New Mexico site.
Sun City Texas, Georgetown (TX footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2015-01-14
The guide is authored for the Sun City Texas community in Georgetown. FireApproved publishes 142 exact owners only as community-level context. It is an archived HOA exhibit with unknown rating lineage, not a current statewide Texas source or an independent Tier 1 determination.
Arizona at or above 3,000 feet (AZ footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2011-12-01
AZ1289 is explicitly limited to Arizona elevations of 3,000 feet and higher. FireApproved publishes 69 exact owners as regional Arizona context, retaining every water and elevation condition. It is never promoted to statewide low-desert guidance or an independent Tier 1 vote.
Yavapai County (AZ footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2025-03-14
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension authors Bulletin 34 for Yavapai County. FireApproved publishes 198 exact source owners from its resistant and prone tables and keeps the county boundary visible. County publication scope is regional Arizona context, never statewide scope.
2. Why this plant is relevant here
State distribution
Documented in AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, OK, TX, UT.
Native range
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness
3. Legal, ecological, and broader status
Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context
How to read this page
The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.
Where its sources say to plant it
Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating.
They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.
Firewise Plant Guide: Shrubs [Sun City plant-table sections] (with its recommendation)
FireWise Plant List for New Mexico: PDF page 3, Trees and Large Shrubs, p3-r13 [nm-emnrd-firewise-table-row] (with its recommendation)
The evidence
Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself
(a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or
republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.
Listed as New Mexico privet — Forestiera neomexicana. The bulletin says fire-resistant plants tend to resist ignition when irrigated and maintained, while fire-prone plants may ignite readily and burn intensely.
The table rates Elbowbush — Forestiera pubescens low for flammability hazard, defined as the ease a plant can burn at high temperatures for a prolonged time.
FireWise Plant List for New Mexico — New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, Forestry Division · 2003 Forestry Division PDF · original sourceCorroborationCompilationlineage: csu-nmsu-firewise
“FireWise Plant List for New Mexico”
Listed as Forestiera neomexicana (New Mexico Olive) in Trees and Large Shrubs. Printed elevation cells: 4,000 ft=Y, 5,000 ft=Y, 6,000 ft=Y, 7,000 ft=Y, 8,000 ft=?, 9,000+ ft=N. Water need: L-M; sun/shade: S/PS; mature height: 10-20’; approximate bloom: n/a.
