Flora of North America species comparison

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Ceanothus pumilus

dwarf ceanothus, Siskiyou mat
Habit Shrubs, 0.1–0.4 m, matlike to moundlike.
Stems

prostrate to spreading, sometimes rooting at proximal nodes;

branchlets reddish brown, flexible to ± rigid, tomentulose.
Leaves

not fascicled;

petiole 1–2 mm;

blade flat to ± cupped, slightly folded lengthwise adaxially, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly oblong-oblanceolate, 5–15 × 3–6 mm, base cuneate, margins thick to ± revolute, usually denticulate near apex, sometimes entire, teeth (0 or) 2–3, apex usually truncate, sometimes obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, sparsely strigillose to glabrous, adaxial surface green to grayish green, dull, glabrous, sometimes glaucous.
Inflorescences

axillary, 1–1.7 cm.
Flowers

sepals, petals, and nectary pale blue to lavender.
Capsules

4–6 mm wide, lobed;

valves smooth, horns subapical, minute or weakly developed bulges, intermediate ridges absent.
2n

= 24.

Ceanothus pumilus
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Rocky soils derived from serpentine, open flats and slopes, chaparral, conifer forests.
Elevation 100–2200 m. [300–7200 ft.]
Distribution
map from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Ceanothus pumilus is endemic to the Klamath Mountains, where it occurs strictly on serpentine soils; it sometimes has been confused with C. arcuatus and C. prostratus, from which it differs principally by its oblanceolate to oblong-lanceolate leaf blades with a truncate, 3-toothed apex.

Hybrids between Ceanothus pumilus and C. cuneatus have been called C. ×humboldtensis Roof.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Cerastes
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. parryi, C. parvifolius, C. pauciflorus, C. perplexans, C. pinetorum, C. prostratus, C. purpureus, C. roderickii, C. sanguineus, C. sonomensis, C. spinosus, C. thyrsiflorus, C. tomentosus, C. velutinus, C. verrucosus
Synonyms C. prostratus var. profugus
Name authority Greene: Erythea 1: 149. (1893)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 105. Treatment authors: Clifford L. Schmidt†, Dieter H. Wilken.
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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