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pine mat

Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike.
Stems

spreading, sometimes rooting at nodes;

branchlets green, sometimes tinged red, not thorn-tipped, usually round, sometimes angled, in cross section, flexible, puberulent.

Leaves

petiole 3–11 mm;

blade flat, elliptic to widely ovate, 12–45 × 6–20 mm, base obtuse to rounded, margins serrulate to denticulate, not revolute, usually not wavy, sometimes wavy, teeth 27–42, apex ± obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green, pilosulous, adaxial surface green, pilosulous; usually pinnately veined, rarely 3-veined from base.

Inflorescences

axillary, umbel-like to racemelike, 1.3–4 cm.

Flowers

sepals, petals, and nectary usually blue to pale blue, rarely white.

Capsules

4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;

valves smooth, crested.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Well-drained slopes and canyons, open to shaded sites, mixed evergreen and conifer forests.
Elevation 700–2300 m. (2300–7500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ceanothus diversifolius occurs in the North Coast Ranges and the western slopes of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada; it often forms mats to two meters wide. Marginal teeth on young leaves are notable in having more or less persistent, narrowly conic glands, not seen elsewhere in Ceanothus.

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

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94.
Parent taxa Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus
Sibling taxa
C. americanus, C. arboreus, C. arcuatus, C. confusus, C. cordulatus, C. crassifolius, C. cuneatus, C. cyaneus, C. dentatus, C. divergens, 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
Synonyms C. decumbens
Name authority Kellogg: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 58. (1855)
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