Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus impressus

Ceanothus parryi

Santa Barbara ceanothus

ladybush, Parry ceanothus, Parry's ceanothus
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, 2–6 m. Stems erect or ascending, not rooting at nodes; branchlets grayish green to brown, not thorn-tipped, usually round, sometimes ± angled, in cross section, flexible, lanate to woolly, glabrescent.
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 1–8 mm;

blade flat to slightly cupped, oblong or ± elliptic, 12–50 × 6–20 mm, base obtuse to rounded, margins entire or obscurely glandular-denticulate, narrowly revolute, glands 21–36, apex obtuse, abaxial surface green, cobwebby, soon glabrescent, adaxial surface dark green, shiny, villosulous, glabrescent; usually 3-veined from base, rarely pinnately veined.
Inflorescences

axillary or terminal, umbel-like to racemelike, 1.2–3.5 cm.

axillary or terminal, paniclelike, 5–15 cm.
Flowers

sepals, petals, and nectary blue.

sepals, petals, and nectary deep blue.
Capsules

3–4 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth, crested.

2.5–4 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth, not or weakly crested.
2n

= 24.

Ceanothus impressus

Ceanothus parryi
Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Rocky soils, open sites, flats, mixed evergreen and redwood forests.
Elevation 30–800 m. (100–2600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Ceanothus parryi occurs in the outer coast ranges of Oregon (Benton and Lane counties) and from Humboldt County south to Napa County in California; it is reported to hybridize with C. foliosus, C. incanus, and C. thyrsiflorus (H. McMinn 1944). The deep blue sepals and petals, cobwebby indumentum on young leaves, and narrowly revolute leaf margins are diagnostic.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blades oblong to elliptic, 5–11(–14) × 2.5–8(–12) mm, strongly cupped, margins strongly revolute.
var. impressus
1. Leaf blades widely elliptic to suborbiculate, 11–20(–25) × 7–17(–20) mm, ± flat to cupped, margins thick to weakly revolute.
var. nipomensis
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 91. FNA vol. 12, p. 90.
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. diversifolius, C. fendleri, C. ferrisiae, C. foliosus, C. fresnensis, C. gloriosus, C. griseus, C. hearstiorum, C. herbaceus, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. impressus var. impressus, C. impressus var. nipomensis
Name authority Trelease: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 1: 112. (1888) 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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