Ceanothus impressus |
Ceanothus leucodermis |
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Santa Barbara ceanothus |
chaparral whitethorn |
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Habit | Shrubs, evergreen, 0.5–3 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets brown, not thorn-tipped, round in cross section, flexible, puberulent. | Shrubs, evergreen, 1.5–4 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets light green or grayish green and glaucous, thorn-tipped, round in cross section, rigid, glabrous. | ||||
Leaves | petiole 0–4 mm; blade ± flat to strongly cupped, oblong, elliptic, or suborbiculate, 5–20(–25) × 2.5–17(–20) mm, base rounded, margins serrulate, thick to weakly or strongly revolute, teeth 11–29, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green, villosulous, adaxial surface dark to medium green, sparsely puberulent, not glandular papillate; pinnately veined, veins furrowed. |
petiole 3–7 mm; blade flat, ovate to oblong-elliptic, 5–30 × 3–15 mm, base rounded to subcordate, margins usually entire to minutely glandular-serrulate, rarely serrate, glands 16–20, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface grayish green, glaucous, glabrous, adaxial surface green, ± glaucous, dull, usually glabrous, sometimes appressed villosulous; 3-veined from base. |
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Inflorescences | axillary or terminal, umbel-like to racemelike, 1.2–3.5 cm. |
axillary, usually paniclelike, sometimes racemelike, (3–)5–15 cm. |
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Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary blue. |
sepals, petals, and nectary white to blue. |
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Capsules | 3–4 mm wide, lobed; valves smooth, crested. |
3–5 mm wide, lobed; valves smooth, viscid, not crested. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus impressus |
Ceanothus leucodermis |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | |||||
Habitat | Rocky slopes, chaparral, oak woodlands, conifer forests. | |||||
Elevation | 200–1800 m. (700–5900 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
CA
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CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Ceanothus leucodermis is a common, often dominant species of chaparral in the mountains of central and southern California. This species is notable in producing serrate to serrulate leaves on stump sprouts following fire (M. Van Rensselaer and H. McMinn 1942). Putative hybrids and advanced generation intermediates with C. oliganthus occur throughout the southern Coast and Transverse ranges of California (McMinn 1944). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 91. | FNA vol. 12, p. 86. | ||||
Parent taxa | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Trelease: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 1: 112. (1888) | Greene: Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1895: 15. (1895) | ||||
Web links |