Ceanothus gloriosus |
Ceanothus sonomensis |
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glory mat, Point Reyes ceanothus |
Sonoma ceanothus |
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Habit | Shrubs, 0.1–3 m, matlike to moundlike. | Shrubs, 0.5–1 m, often moundlike. | ||||||||
Stems | prostrate, spreading, ascending, or erect, sometimes rooting at proximal nodes; branchlets green to brown or reddish brown, flexible to rigid, strigillose or tomentulose. |
erect to ascending, not rooting at nodes; branchlets gray to grayish brown, rigid, strigillose, glabrescent. |
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Leaves | not fascicled, not crowded; petiole 1–4 mm; blade flat to ± cupped or folded lengthwise adaxially, widely elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 10–40(–45) × 5–24 mm, base cuneate to ± rounded, margins not revolute, sometimes slightly thickened, dentate to denticulate most of length, teeth 9–35, apex rounded, truncate, or retuse, abaxial surface pale green, sparsely strigillose or glabrate, adaxial surface dark green, ± shiny, glabrous. |
not fascicled; petiole 0–1 mm; blade cupped, widely obovate to suborbiculate, 5–12 × 2–10 mm, base cuneate, margins not revolute, wavy, spinose-dentate, teeth 2–4, apex widely notched; abaxial surface pale green or grayish green and glaucous, strigillose on veins, adaxial surface shiny green, glabrous. |
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Inflorescences | axillary, 0.9–2.5 cm. |
axillary or terminal, 0.8–1.5 cm. |
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Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary deep blue to bluish purple. |
sepals, petals, and nectary blue to lavender. |
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Capsules | 4–6 mm wide, lobed; valves usually smooth, sometimes rugulose or crested distal to middle, horns subapical, minute, not rugose, intermediate ridges absent. |
4–5 mm wide, usually not, sometimes weakly lobed; valves smooth, horns subapical, minute to ± prominent, erect, intermediate ridges absent. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus gloriosus |
Ceanothus sonomensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr. | |||||||||
Habitat | Sandy to rocky soils derived mostly from volcanic substrates, slopes, ridges, chaparral. | |||||||||
Elevation | 100–700 m. (300–2300 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA
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CA |
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Ceanothus gloriosus is composed of three varieties occurring along the northern California coast from Humboldt County to Marin County. Variety gloriosus and var. porrectus generally differ primarily by leaf shape, length and width, and the number of marginal teeth. Variety exaltatus differs from the other two varieties primarily in stature. Complex hybrids with C. cuneatus var. ramulosus, C. divergens, and C. sonomensis were studied by J. T. Howell (1940). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ceanothus sonomensis is distinctive in having spinose-dentate, few-toothed leaves, and slender fruit horns two to three millimeters; it occurs at a few scattered localities in the mountains of Napa and Sonoma counties. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 102. | FNA vol. 12, p. 103. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Cerastes | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Cerastes | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | J. T. Howell: Leafl. W. Bot. 2: 43. (1937) | J. T. Howell: Leafl. W. Bot. 2: 162. (1939) | ||||||||
Web links |