Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus megacarpus

pine mat

big pod ceanothus
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike. Shrubs, 1.5–6 m. Stems erect to ascending, not rooting at nodes; branchlets grayish brown to brown, flexible, appressed puberulent to 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.

sometimes alternate, not fascicled, sometimes crowded;

petiole 1–5 mm;

blade flat to cupped, oval, elliptic, or oblanceolate, 10–25(–33) × 5–19 mm, base cuneate to rounded, margins thick, usually entire, rarely remotely denticulate, teeth 5–7, apex obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, glabrous or sparsely strigillose on veins, adaxial surface green, glabrous.
Inflorescences

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

axillary, 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.

7–12 mm wide, not lobed;

valves smooth or rugulose to weakly ridged near apex;

horns subapical, prominent, erect, often rugulose, or weakly developed to absent, intermediate ridges absent.
2n

= 24.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus megacarpus
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
[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).

Some populations of Ceanothus megacarpus are polymorphic for leaf arrangement. Plants assignable to either var. insularis or var. megacarpus based on leaf arrangement may have fruits intermediate to both varieties. Putative hybrids between var. megacarpus and C. cuneatus were reported by H. McMinn (1944), but their variable leaf arrangement (alternate and opposite on the same plant) may also represent intermediates between var. insularis and var. megacarpus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaves mostly alternate; capsule valves rugulose to weakly ridged near apex; horns prominent.
var. megacarpus
1. Leaves mostly opposite; fruit valves smooth; horns weakly developed or absent.
var. insularis
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94. FNA vol. 12, p. 97.
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. 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. 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. megacarpus var. insularis, C. megacarpus var. megacarpus
Synonyms C. decumbens C. macrocarpus
Name authority Kellogg: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 58. (1855) Nuttall: N. Amer. Sylv. 2: 46. (1846)
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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