Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus cyaneus

Ceanothus pumilus

lakeside ceanothus, San Diego buckbrush

dwarf ceanothus, Siskiyou mat
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 2–5 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets light green, not thorn-tipped, angled in cross section, flexible, often tuberculate (tubercles minute, brownish), puberulent, glabrescent. Shrubs, 0.1–0.4 m, matlike to moundlike.
Stems

prostrate to spreading, sometimes rooting at proximal nodes;

branchlets reddish brown, flexible to ± rigid, tomentulose.
Leaves

petiole 2–6 mm;

blade flat, ovate-elliptic, 20–50 × 15–20 mm, base rounded, margins usually denticulate to serrulate, rarely entire, not revolute, teeth 23–58, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, veins puberulent, adaxial surface dark green, glabrous or sparsely puberulent; 3-veined from base.

not fascicled;

petiole 1–2 mm;

blade flat to ± cupped, slightly folded lengthwise adaxially, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly oblong-oblanceolate, 5–15 × 3–6 mm, base cuneate, margins thick to ± revolute, usually denticulate near apex, sometimes entire, teeth (0 or) 2–3, apex usually truncate, sometimes obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, sparsely strigillose to glabrous, adaxial surface green to grayish green, dull, glabrous, sometimes glaucous.
Inflorescences

terminal, paniclelike, 15–30(–40) cm.

axillary, 1–1.7 cm.
Flowers

sepals, petals, and nectary deep blue.

sepals, petals, and nectary pale blue to lavender.
Capsules

3–5 mm wide, deeply lobed;

valves smooth, weakly crested.

4–6 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth, horns subapical, minute or weakly developed bulges, intermediate ridges absent.
2n

= 24.

= 24.

Ceanothus cyaneus

Ceanothus pumilus
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Rocky or gravelly slopes, chaparral. Rocky soils derived from serpentine, open flats and slopes, chaparral, conifer forests.
Elevation 40–600 m. (100–2000 ft.) 100–2200 m. (300–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ceanothus cyaneus is known in the flora area only from San Diego County, and is threatened throughout its range.

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

Ceanothus pumilus is endemic to the Klamath Mountains, where it occurs strictly on serpentine soils; it sometimes has been confused with C. arcuatus and C. prostratus, from which it differs principally by its oblanceolate to oblong-lanceolate leaf blades with a truncate, 3-toothed apex.

Hybrids between Ceanothus pumilus and C. cuneatus have been called C. ×humboldtensis Roof.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 90. FNA vol. 12, p. 105.
Parent taxa Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Cerastes
Sibling taxa
C. americanus, C. arboreus, C. arcuatus, C. confusus, C. cordulatus, C. crassifolius, C. cuneatus, C. dentatus, C. divergens, C. diversifolius, C. fendleri, C. ferrisiae, C. foliosus, C. fresnensis, C. gloriosus, C. griseus, C. hearstiorum, C. herbaceus, C. impressus, C. incanus, C. integerrimus, C. jepsonii, C. lemmonii, C. leucodermis, C. maritimus, C. martini, C. masonii, C. megacarpus, C. microphyllus, C. oliganthus, C. ophiochilus, C. otayensis, C. palmeri, C. papillosus, C. parryi, C. parvifolius, C. pauciflorus, C. perplexans, C. pinetorum, C. prostratus, C. pumilus, C. purpureus, C. roderickii, C. sanguineus, C. sonomensis, C. spinosus, C. thyrsiflorus, C. tomentosus, C. velutinus, C. verrucosus
C. americanus, C. arboreus, C. arcuatus, C. confusus, C. cordulatus, C. crassifolius, C. cuneatus, C. cyaneus, C. dentatus, C. divergens, C. diversifolius, C. fendleri, C. ferrisiae, C. foliosus, C. fresnensis, C. gloriosus, C. griseus, C. hearstiorum, C. herbaceus, C. impressus, C. incanus, C. integerrimus, C. jepsonii, C. lemmonii, C. leucodermis, C. maritimus, C. martini, C. masonii, C. megacarpus, C. microphyllus, C. oliganthus, C. ophiochilus, C. otayensis, C. palmeri, C. papillosus, C. parryi, C. parvifolius, C. pauciflorus, C. perplexans, C. pinetorum, C. prostratus, C. purpureus, C. roderickii, C. sanguineus, C. sonomensis, C. spinosus, C. thyrsiflorus, C. tomentosus, C. velutinus, C. verrucosus
Synonyms C. prostratus var. profugus
Name authority Eastwood: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 4, 16: 361. (1927) Greene: Erythea 1: 149. (1893)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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