FNA: Ceanothus cuneatus vs. Ceanothus subg. Cerastes

Distribution

CA; OR; nw Mexico

w United States; sc United States; Mexico

Discussion

Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species of subg. Cerastes not accounted for here are: Ceanothus australis Rose and C. bolensis S. Boyd & J. Keeley, both endemic to Mexico.

Species 25 (23 in the flora).

In the following key, references to indumentum do not include the hairs associated with the stomatal crypts, which in all species of subg. Cerastes appear microscopically tomentulose or densely puberulent; these hairs are much shorter than hairs borne on the abaxial surfaces and veins between the crypts.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key

1. Leaf blades of fascicled and non-fascicled leaves elliptic to widely oblanceolate, length usually 2+ times width; sepals, petals, and nectaries usually white, sometimes pale blue or pale lavender.	var. cuneatus
1. Leaf blades of fascicled and non-fascicled leaves widely oblanceolate, widely obovate, or orbiculate, length usually less than 2 times width, or of fascicled leaves elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate (in var. fascicularis); sepals, petals, and nectaries usually lavender to blue, sometimes pale blue, rarely white.	→ 2
2. Leaf blades of fascicled leaves elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate, 9–15 × 3–6 mm, length usually 2+ times width.	var. fascicularis
2. Leaf blades of fascicled leaves widely oblanceolate, widely obovate, or orbiculate, 4–15 × 3–12 mm, length less than 2 times width.	→ 3
3. Leaf blade margins usually entire, rarely 1–4-toothed, apices rounded, truncate, or retuse.	var. ramulosus
3. Leaf blade margins 5–9-toothed, apices rounded to truncate.	var. rigidus

1. Leaves alternate.	→ 2
2. Leaf blades widely obovate to suborbiculate, 5–14 mm, apices truncate to retuse; capsules 4–6 mm wide, valves smooth, horns minute or absent.	C. verrucosus
2. Leaf blades elliptic to obovate, 10–25(–33) mm, apices obtuse; capsules 7–12 mm wide, valves rugulose to weakly ridged near apex, horns prominent.	C. megacarpus
1. Leaves opposite.	→ 3
3. Shrubs matlike to moundlike, 0.1–1 m; stems spreading to weakly ascending (sometimes erect to ascending in C. maritimus and C. sonomensis), sometimes rooting at nodes.	→ 4
4. Shrubs matlike, 0.1–0.3 m; stems prostrate or spreading.	→ 5
5. Leaf blade margins sharply dentate to spinose-dentate, teeth 3–9.	→ 6
6. Leaves not crowded (shorter than internodes); leaf blade adaxial surfaces green, dull; capsules 4–6 mm wide.	C. confusus
6. Leaves often crowded (usually longer than internodes); leaf blade adaxial surfaces dark green, shiny; capsules 6–9 mm wide.	C. prostratus
5. Leaf blade margins entire or denticulate near apex, teeth 0–3.	→ 7
7. Leaf blade adaxial surfaces dark green, shiny, apices rounded to retuse; capsule horns prominent.	C. fresnensis
7. Leaf blade adaxial surfaces green to grayish green, dull, apices usually truncate, sometimes obtuse; capsule horns minute or weakly developed bulges.	C. pumilus
4. Shrubs moundlike, 0.1–1 m; stems ± prostrate, spreading, or weakly ascending.	→ 8
8. Leaf blade margins spinose-dentate.	→ 9
9. Leaf blades widely obovate to suborbiculate, 5–12 mm, apices widely notched, marginal teeth 2–4.	C. sonomensis
9. Leaf blades elliptic, ± oblong, or obovate, 10–20 mm, apices acute or retuse, with an apical tooth, marginal teeth 3–9(–11).	→ 10
10. Shrubs 0.5–1.5 m; stems ascending to erect.	C. divergens
10. Shrubs 0.1–0.6 m; stems spreading to weakly ascending.	C. confusus
8. Leaf blade margins entire, denticulate, or serrulate.	→ 11
11. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces tomentulose.	C. maritimus
11. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces strigillose, sometimes only on or between veins, puberulent, or glabrate.	→ 12
12. Leaf blade margins dentate to denticulate or serrulate most of length, teeth 5–31.	→ 13
13. Leaves crowded, blades elliptic to obovate, marginal teeth 5–9.	C. prostratus
13. Leaves not crowded, blades widely elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, marginal teeth 9–31.	→ 14
14. Leaf blades 23–31(–45) mm, marginal teeth 13–31; capsule horns minute, intermediate ridges absent; coastal habitats, 30–200 m.	C. gloriosus
14. Leaf blades 10–20 mm, marginal teeth 9–15; capsule horns prominent, intermediate ridges present; montane habitats, elevations 1600–2600 m.	C. pinetorum
12. Leaf blade margins entire, denticulate near apex, or remotely denticulate, teeth 1–5(–7).	→ 15
15. Leaf blades narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, margins thick to ± revolute, apex usually truncate, sometimes obtuse.	C. pumilus
15. Leaf blades elliptic to oblanceolate, margins sometimes thick but not revolute, apex acute, obtuse, retuse, or rounded, or ± truncate.	→ 16
16. Leaf blades folded lengthwise; capsule horns absent or weakly developed bulges; axillary short shoots, if present, erect.	C. roderickii
16. Leaf blades flat; capsule horns prominent to minute or absent; axillary short shoots, if present, ascending to spreading.	→ 17
17. Leaf blades apices rounded to obtuse, adaxial surfaces pale green; capsule horns subapical, erect.	C. arcuatus
17. Leaf blades apices acute to ± truncate; adaxial surfaces grayish green; capsule horns minute or absent, or lateral, spreading.	C. pauciflorus
3. Plants not matlike or moundlike, 0.5–6 m; stems usually erect to ascending, sometimes spreading, not rooting at nodes.	→ 18
18. Leaf blade margins spinose-dentate.	→ 19
19. Stems ± flexible; leaves spreading, abaxial leaf surfaces grayish green.	C. divergens
19. Stems rigid; leaves spreading to deflexed, abaxial leaf surfaces pale green or pale yellowish green.	→ 20
20. Sepals, petals, and stamens 5; leaf blade adaxial surfaces green to dark green; capsule valves smooth, horns slender, intermediate ridges absent; on volcanic soils.	C. purpureus
20. Sepals, petals, and stamens (5–)6(–8); leaf blade adaxial surfaces pale green; capsule valves rugose, horns thick, intermediate ridges present; on serpentine soils.	C. jepsonii
18. Leaf blade margins entire, dentate, denticulate, or serrulate.	→ 21
21. Leaf blade margins entire or remotely denticulate, teeth if present minute, 1–7 (8–19 in C. crassifolius).	→ 22
22. Leaves both fascicled and not fascicled on same plant.	→ 23
23. Petioles 1–3 mm; leaf blades elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate, or orbiculate, 6–22(–30) × 3–12(–22) mm; capsules 4–6 mm wide, horns prominent.	C. cuneatus
23. Petioles 0–1 mm; leaf blades narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, 3–7 × 1–3 mm; capsules 3–4 mm wide, horns minute or absent.	C. ophiochilus
22. Leaves not fascicled.	→ 24
24. Branchlets light gray to ashy gray, puberulent to tomentulose, hairs curly or wavy, glabrescent; leaf blade adaxial surfaces grayish green, puberulent, hairs curly or wavy, glabrescent.	C. pauciflorus
24. Branchlets grayish brown to brown, puberulent or tomentulose, hairs straight, sometimes glabrate; leaf blade adaxial surfaces green, glabrous or sparsely tomentulose, hairs straight, glabrescent.	→ 25
25. Leaf blades widely oblanceolate to widely obovate, 5–11 × 4–7 mm; sepals, petals, and nectaries usually lavender, sometimes pale blue; capsules 5–6 mm wide.	C. cuneatus
25. Leaf blades elliptic to obovate, 10–40 × 5–15(–20) mm; sepals and petals white, nectaries blue or black; capsules 6–12 mm wide.	→ 26
26. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces glabrous or strigillose on veins; capsules 7–12 mm wide, horns weakly developed or absent.	C. megacarpus
26. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces tomentulose; capsules 6–9 mm wide, horns prominent.	C. crassifolius
21. Leaf blade margins dentate or denticulate, at least distal to middle, teeth 5–35 (3–5 in C. otayensis).	→ 27
27. Sepals and petals white to cream, nectaries tan to brown, yellow to green, blue, purple, or black.	→ 28
28. Leaf blade margins revolute or thick, abaxial surfaces tomentulose.	→ 29
29. Leaf blade margins with 8–19 teeth most of length, apices obtuse to rounded; capsules 5–9 mm wide, horns prominent.	C. crassifolius
29. Leaf blades margins with 3–5 teeth near apex, apices truncate, retuse, or cuspidate; capsules 4–6 mm wide, horns minute or absent.	C. otayensis
28. Leaf blade margins thick or not, not revolute, abaxial surfaces sparsely puberulent (hairs curly) or strigillose, sometimes glabrescent.	→ 30
30. Leaf blade adaxial surfaces dark green; nectaries dark blue to purple; capsules 7–9 mm wide, horns subapical, prominent; serpentine substrates.	C. ferrisiae
30. Leaf blade adaxial surfaces green to yellowish green; nectaries yellow to green; capsules 4–6 mm wide, horns lateral, usually minute, sometimes absent; granitic or metamorphic substrates.	C. perplexans
27. Sepals, petals, and nectaries pale blue, blue, or purple.	→ 31
31. Leaf blades 4–10 × 4–6 mm, margins denticulate distal to middle, teeth 5–9.	C. cuneatus
31. Leaf blades 7–40 × 4–22 mm, denticulate most of length, teeth 9–35.	→ 32
32. Sepals, petals, and nectaries pale blue to blue; capsule horns prominent, rugose, intermediate ridges present; montane habitats, 1600–2600 m.	C. pinetorum
32. Sepals, petals, and nectaries deep blue to purple; capsule horns minute, not rugose, intermediate ridges absent; coastal habitats, 30–500 m.	→ 33
33. Leaf blades widely elliptic to suborbiculate, 3–40 × 17–22 mm, marginal teeth 13–35.	C. gloriosus
33. Leaf blades usually elliptic or oval, sometimes suborbiculate, 7–21 × 4–13 mm, marginal teeth 9–17.	C. masonii