Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus parryi

Ceanothus fendleri

ladybush, Parry ceanothus, Parry's ceanothus

Fendler buckbrush, Fendler's ceanothus
Habit 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. Shrubs, evergreen, 0.5–1.5 m. Stems erect, ascending, or spreading, rooting at proximal nodes; branchlets green to grayish green, thorn-tipped, round in cross section, rigid, canescent, often glaucous.
Leaves

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.

petiole 1–4 mm;

blade flat, elliptic, ovate, or orbiculate, 8–25(–30) × 3–8(–14) mm, base cuneate to rounded, margins usually entire, rarely serrulate near apex, teeth 3–7, apex obtuse to rounded, abaxial surface pale green or grayish green and glaucous, appressed-villosulous to tomentulose, especially along veins, adaxial surface dark green, dull, appressed-villosulous or glabrous; 3-veined from base (lateral veins sometimes obscure).
Inflorescences

axillary or terminal, paniclelike, 5–15 cm.

terminal or axillary, usually umbel-like, sometimes racemelike, 1–3.5 cm.
Flowers

sepals, petals, and nectary deep blue.

sepals, petals, and nectary white or pinkish.
Capsules

2.5–4 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth, not or weakly crested.

4–6 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth to rugose, viscid, usually not crested, sometimes weakly crested.
2n

= 24.

Ceanothus parryi

Ceanothus fendleri
Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering Jan–Jul.
Habitat Rocky soils, open sites, flats, mixed evergreen and redwood forests. Rocky soils, slopes, open sites, chaparral, oak-pine woodlands, conifer forests.
Elevation 30–800 m. (100–2600 ft.) 1400–2700 m. (4600–8900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; SD; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Plants of Ceanothus fendleri with glabrous leaves found throughout its range have been called var. viridis. The name C. fendleri var. venosus has been applied to plants with widely elliptic, villosulous leaf blades. Such plants are similar to C. buxifolius of northern Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora), which has glabrous or sparsely puberulent leaf blades and ± persistent glands on denticulate leaf margins. Putative hybrids between C. fendleri and C. herbaceus in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains were named C. ×subsericeus Rydberg.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 90. FNA vol. 12, p. 87.
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. 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
C. americanus, C. arboreus, C. arcuatus, C. confusus, C. cordulatus, C. crassifolius, C. cuneatus, C. cyaneus, C. dentatus, C. divergens, C. diversifolius, 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
Synonyms C. fendleri var. venosus, C. fendleri var. viridis
Name authority Trelease: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 1: 109. (1888) A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 29. (1849)
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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