Ceanothus diversifolius
Ceanothus fendleri
pine mat
Fendler buckbrush, Fendler's ceanothus
spreading, sometimes rooting at nodes;
branchlets green, sometimes tinged red, not thorn-tipped, usually round, sometimes angled, in cross section, flexible, puberulent.
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.
petiole 1–4 mm;
blade flat, elliptic, ovate, or orbiculate, 8–25(–30) × 3–8(–14) mm, base cuneate to rounded, margins usually entire, rarely serrulate near apex, teeth 3–7, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green or grayish green and glaucous, appressed-villosulous to tomentulose, especially along veins, adaxial surface dark green, dull, appressed-villosulous or glabrous; 3-veined from base (lateral veins sometimes obscure).
axillary, umbel-like to racemelike, 1.3–4 cm.
terminal or axillary, usually umbel-like, sometimes racemelike, 1–3.5 cm.
sepals, petals, and nectary usually blue to pale blue, rarely white.
sepals, petals, and nectary white or pinkish.
4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;
valves smooth, crested.
4–6 mm wide, lobed;
valves smooth to rugose, viscid, usually not crested, sometimes weakly crested.
Ceanothus diversifolius
Ceanothus fendleri
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.)
Plants of Ceanothus fendleri with glabrous leaves found throughout its range have been called var. viridis. The name C. fendleri var. venosus has been applied to plants with widely elliptic, villosulous leaf blades. Such plants are similar to C. buxifolius of northern Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora), which has glabrous or sparsely puberulent leaf blades and ± persistent glands on denticulate leaf margins. Putative hybrids between C. fendleri and C. herbaceus in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains were named C. ×subsericeus Rydberg.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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