Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus crassifolius

pine mat

hoary-leaf ceanothus
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike. Shrubs, 1.5–4 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets grayish brown to brown, ± flexible to rigid, tomentulose, hairs straight.
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.

not fascicled;

petiole 2–6 mm;

blade flat to ± cupped, elliptic to widely elliptic, 12–25(–30) × 8–15(–23) mm, base obtuse to rounded, margins thick or revolute, entire to denticulate most of length, teeth 8–19, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green to white, tomentulose to glabrate, adaxial surface green, sparsely tomentulose, hairs straight, glabrescent.
Inflorescences

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

axillary or terminal, 1–2 cm.
Flowers

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

sepals and petals white;

nectary blue to black.
Capsules

4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;

valves smooth, crested.

5–9 mm wide, sometimes weakly lobed at apex;

valves viscid, smooth, horns lateral, prominent, erect, intermediate ridges absent.
2n

= 24.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus crassifolius
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]
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[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.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces densely tomentulose, veins obscured, margins denticulate and revolute.
var. crassifolius
1. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces sparsely tomentulose to glabrate, veins evident, margins entire to weakly denticulate, thick to weakly revolute.
var. planus
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94. FNA vol. 12, p. 98.
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. 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
C. americanus, C. arboreus, C. arcuatus, C. confusus, C. cordulatus, 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. pumilus, C. purpureus, C. roderickii, C. sanguineus, C. sonomensis, C. spinosus, C. thyrsiflorus, C. tomentosus, C. velutinus, C. verrucosus
Subordinate taxa
C. crassifolius var. crassifolius, C. crassifolius var. planus
Synonyms C. decumbens
Name authority Kellogg: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 58. (1855) Torrey: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 4(5): 75. (1857)
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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