Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus ferrisiae

pine mat

coyote ceanothus
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike. Shrubs, 1–2 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets grayish brown, glaucous, rigid, puberulent.
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 1–3 mm;

blade flat or ± cupped, widely elliptic to widely obovate, 11–30 × 7–18 mm, base obtuse to rounded, margins not revolute, usually denticulate, rarely entire, teeth 6–13, apex rounded, abaxial surface pale green, sparsely strigillose between veins, adaxial surface dark green, glabrate.
Inflorescences

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

terminal, 1.2–1.5(–2) cm.
Flowers

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

sepals and petals white;

nectary dark blue to purple.
Capsules

4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;

valves smooth, crested.

7–9 mm wide, weakly lobed;

valves ± smooth, horns subapical, prominent, erect, intermediate ridges absent.
2n

= 24.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus ferrisiae
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Jan–May.
Habitat Well-drained slopes and canyons, open to shaded sites, mixed evergreen and conifer forests. Serpentine soils and outcrops, chaparral, pine and oak woodlands.
Elevation 700–2300 m. (2300–7500 ft.) 100–500 m. (300–1600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[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.)

Ceanothus ferrisiae, federally listed as endangered, occurs at a few localities in the foothills of the Mount Hamilton Range northeast of Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94. FNA vol. 12, p. 101.
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. crassifolius, C. cuneatus, C. cyaneus, C. dentatus, C. divergens, C. diversifolius, C. fendleri, 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) McMinn: Madroño 2: 89. (1933) — (as ferrisae)
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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