Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus otayensis

pine mat

Otay Mountain ceanothus
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike. Shrubs, 1–3.5 m. Stems erect to ascending, not rooting at nodes; branchlets grayish brown to brown, ± flexible to rigid, tomentulose.
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 0–2 mm;

blade flat to ± cupped, widely elliptic to obovate, 5–13 × 4–10 mm, base cuneate, margins revolute, sometimes wavy, coarsely denticulate near apex, teeth 3–5, apex truncate, retuse, or cuspidate, abaxial surface green, tomentulose, adaxial surface green, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.
Inflorescences

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

axillary or terminal, 0.6–1.8 cm.
Flowers

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

sepals and petals white;

nectary tan to brown.
Capsules

4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;

valves smooth, crested.

4–6 mm wide, weakly lobed;

valves smooth, horns minute or absent, intermediate ridges absent.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus otayensis
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Jan–Apr.
Habitat Well-drained slopes and canyons, open to shaded sites, mixed evergreen and conifer forests. Rocky slopes, chaparral.
Elevation 700–2300 m. (2300–7500 ft.) 500–1100 m. (1600–3600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[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 otayensis is known from the Otay and San Miguel Mountains, southern San Diego County, with at least one locality in northern Baja California. McMinn described C. otayensis as a hybrid between C. crassifolius and C. perplexans. However, neither of the putative parents occurs sympatrically with C. otayensis, and its populations do not display the increased variation expected from hybridization.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94. FNA vol. 12, p. 108.
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. megacarpus, C. microphyllus, C. oliganthus, C. ophiochilus, 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: in M. van Rensselaer and H. McMinn, Ceanothus, 273, fig. 102. (1942) — as hybrid
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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