Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus velutinus

pine mat

greasewood, mountain balm, snowbrush, snowbrush ceanothus, sticky-laurel, tobacco-brush, varnish-leaf ceanothus
Habit Shrubs, evergreen, 0.2–0.3(–0.5) m, matlike. Shrubs, sometimes arborescent, evergreen, 1–6 m. Stems ascending to erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets brown, not thorn-tipped, round in cross section, flexible or ± rigid, puberulent, glabrescent.
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.

petiole 9–32 mm;

blade aromatic, flat, widely elliptic to ovate-elliptic, (25–)40–80(–130) × (13–)20–55(–60) mm, leathery, resinous, base subcordate to rounded, margins glandular-serrulate, teeth 93–150+, apex obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, velvety puberulent, especially on veins, or glabrous, adaxial surface dark green, shiny, glabrous; 3-veined from base.
Inflorescences

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

axillary, paniclelike, 5–12 cm.
Flowers

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

sepals and petals cream;

nectary yellow-tinged.
Capsules

4–5 mm wide, weakly lobed near apex;

valves smooth, crested.

3–4 mm wide, lobed at apex;

valves smooth or ± rugose, sometimes viscid, weakly crested or not crested.

Ceanothus diversifolius

Ceanothus velutinus
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; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; WA; WY; AB; BC
[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).

A common shrub on mountain slopes, Ceanothus velutinus, which reproduces by both seeds and layering, often forms large colonies, especially following fires or forest clearing. The leaves of C. velutinus are strongly aromatic (often vanilla-scented) when crushed, and the adaxial faces, especially in var. laevigatus, appear varnished.

An infusion of leaves of Ceanothus velutinus was used by Native Americans in cleansing and to treat skin inflammations (D. E. Moerman 1998).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces velvety puberulent, especially on veins; capsule valves smooth.
var. velutinus
1. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces glabrous, veins glabrous or sparsely puberulent; capsule valves ± rugose.
var. laevigatus
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 94. FNA vol. 12, p. 83.
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. 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. verrucosus
Subordinate taxa
C. velutinus var. laevigatus, C. velutinus var. velutinus
Synonyms C. decumbens
Name authority Kellogg: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 58. (1855) Douglas: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 125, plate 45. (1831)
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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