Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus foliosus |
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blue blossom, blue blossom ceanothus |
wavy leaf ceanothus |
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Habit | Shrubs, sometimes arborescent, evergreen, 0.5–6 m. Stems erect, usually ascending to arcuate, rarely prostrate, not rooting at nodes; branchlets green, not thorn-tipped, angled in cross section, flexible, not tuberculate, sparsely puberulent or glabrous. | Shrubs, evergreen, 0.3–3.5 m. Stems erect, ascending, arcuate, or prostrate, not rooting at nodes; branchlets green, not thorn-tipped, round or slightly angled in cross section, flexible, villosulous. | ||||||||
Leaves | petiole 3–10 mm; blade flat to cupped, elliptic to ovate, 10–40(–50) × 5–15(–20) mm, base obtuse to rounded, margins denticulate to serrulate, usually not revolute, sometimes incompletely revolute, teeth glandular, 23–48, apex obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, sparsely puberulent to villosulous or glabrate, veins prominently raised, puberulent to villosulous, adaxial surface dark green, glabrate; 3-veined from base. |
petiole 1–3 mm; blade flat or ± folded lengthwise, narrowly elliptic to oblong-elliptic or oblanceolate, 5–24 × 3–13 mm, base obtuse to rounded, margins entire or weakly glandular-denticulate most of length, ± thick, not revolute, usually wavy, sometimes not wavy, teeth 31–42, apex obtuse, abaxial surface pale green to grayish green, villosulous or glabrous and sometimes sparsely puberulent on veins, adaxial surface dark green, glabrous or sparsely puberulent; pinnately veined or faintly 3-veined from base. |
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Inflorescences | terminal, usually racemelike, rarely paniclelike, 2.5–9 cm. |
axillary, umbel-like to racemelike, 1–3.5(–7) cm. |
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Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary usually pale to deep blue, rarely white. |
sepals, petals, and nectary pale to dark blue. |
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Capsules | 3–4 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth, viscid, not crested. |
3–4 mm wide, weakly lobed at apex; valves smooth, not or weakly crested. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus foliosus |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | |||||||||
Habitat | Sandy or rocky flats and slopes, maritime chaparral, open sites in mixed evergreen and conifer forests. | |||||||||
Elevation | 10–600 m. (0–2000 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
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CA
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Discussion | Ceanothus thyrsiflorus occurs along the coast from Coos County, Oregon, south to Santa Barbara County, California, and disjunctly near Eréndira, Baja California. A wide range of growth forms characterize this species and the closely related C. griseus, including plants ranging from almost prostrate to arborescent, sometimes with single trunks. Prostrate plants from several maritime bluffs along the California coast have been called C. thyrsiflorus var. repens McMinn; they retain their stature under cultivation. Named hybrids include C. ×regius (Jepson) McMinn (C. thyrsiflorus × C. papillosus) and C. ×vanrensselaeri Roof (C. thyrsiflorus × C. incanus). H. McMinn (1944) reported hybrids with C. foliosus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 90. | FNA vol. 12, p. 93. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | C. thyrsiflorus var. chandleri, C. thyrsiflorus var. repens | |||||||||
Name authority | Eschscholtz: Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Pétersbourg Hist. Acad. 10: 285. (1826) — (as thyrsiflora) | Parry: Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci. 5: 172. (1889) | ||||||||
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