Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus palmeri

pine mat

Palmer ceanothus, Palmer's ceanothus
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike. Shrubs, evergreen or semideciduous, 1–2 m. Stems ascending to erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets green or gray-green, not thorn-tipped, round in cross section, flexible or rigid, glabrous or glabrate.
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 3–8 mm;

blade ± cupped, elliptic, oblong, or oblong-ovate, 13–30 × 9–15 mm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins entire, apex acute to rounded, abaxial surface pale green, glabrous, adaxial surface green, dull to ± shiny, glabrous; usually pinnately veined, rarely 3-veined.
Inflorescences

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

terminal or axillary, paniclelike, 7.5–22 cm.
Flowers

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

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

4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;

valves smooth, crested.

4.5–7 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth, viscid, crested.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus palmeri
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Well-drained slopes and canyons, open to shaded sites, mixed evergreen and conifer forests. Rocky slopes, chaparral, conifer forests.
Elevation 700–2300 m. (2300–7500 ft.) 1100–1800 m. (3600–5900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[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.)

Ceanothus palmeri occurs in the Transverse and Peninsular ranges of California, with a disjunct distribution in the central Sierra Nevada foothills (Amador and El Dorado counties). Ceanothus palmeri appears to be closely related to and intermediate between C. integerrimus and C. spinosus (W. L. Jepson 1909–1943, vol. 2; M. Van Rensselaer and H. McMinn 1942). We treat this species as distinct from C. spinosus on the basis of its white flowers, and viscid, lobed fruit, but note that some populations intergrade, especially in the Transverse Ranges of southern California. Leaf blades of both C. palmeri and C. spinosus have somewhat shiny adaxial faces, but those of C. integerrimus appear dull. Included here are plants with weakly three-veined leaf blades with somewhat shiny adaxial surfaces from the Transverse Ranges, previously treated by Van Rensselaer and McMinn as part of C. integerrimus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94. FNA vol. 12, p. 86.
Parent taxa Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus
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. otayensis, 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 C. spinosus var. palmeri
Name authority Kellogg: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 58. (1855) Trelease: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 1: 109. (1888)
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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