Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus impressus |
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blue blossom, blue blossom ceanothus |
Santa Barbara 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, 0.5–3 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets brown, not thorn-tipped, round in cross section, flexible, puberulent. | ||||
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 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. |
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Inflorescences | terminal, usually racemelike, rarely paniclelike, 2.5–9 cm. |
axillary or terminal, umbel-like to racemelike, 1.2–3.5 cm. |
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Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary usually pale to deep blue, rarely white. |
sepals, petals, and nectary blue. |
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Capsules | 3–4 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth, viscid, not crested. |
3–4 mm wide, lobed; valves smooth, crested. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus impressus |
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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 2 (2 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. 91. | ||||
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) | Trelease: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, 1: 112. (1888) | ||||
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