Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus otayensis |
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blue blossom, blue blossom ceanothus |
Otay Mountain 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, 1–3.5 m. Stems erect to ascending, not rooting at nodes; branchlets grayish brown to brown, ± flexible to rigid, tomentulose. |
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. |
not fascicled; petiole 0–2 mm; blade flat to ± cupped, widely elliptic to obovate, 5–13 × 4–10 mm, base cuneate, margins revolute, sometimes wavy, coarsely denticulate near apex, teeth 3–5, apex truncate, retuse, or cuspidate, abaxial surface green, tomentulose, adaxial surface green, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. |
Inflorescences | terminal, usually racemelike, rarely paniclelike, 2.5–9 cm. |
axillary or terminal, 0.6–1.8 cm. |
Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary usually pale to deep blue, rarely white. |
sepals and petals white; nectary tan to brown. |
Capsules | 3–4 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth, viscid, not crested. |
4–6 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth, horns minute or absent, intermediate ridges absent. |
2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus otayensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | Flowering Jan–Apr. |
Habitat | Sandy or rocky flats and slopes, maritime chaparral, open sites in mixed evergreen and conifer forests. | Rocky slopes, chaparral. |
Elevation | 10–600 m. (0–2000 ft.) | 500–1100 m. (1600–3600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
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CA; Mexico (Baja California) |
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.) |
Ceanothus otayensis is known from the Otay and San Miguel Mountains, southern San Diego County, with at least one locality in northern Baja California. McMinn described C. otayensis as a hybrid between C. crassifolius and C. perplexans. However, neither of the putative parents occurs sympatrically with C. otayensis, and its populations do not display the increased variation expected from hybridization. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 90. | FNA vol. 12, p. 108. |
Parent taxa | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Cerastes |
Sibling 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) | McMinn: in M. van Rensselaer and H. McMinn, Ceanothus, 273, fig. 102. (1942) — as hybrid |
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