Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus pinetorum |
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blue blossom, blue blossom ceanothus |
Coville ceanothus, Coville's ceanothus, Kern 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, 0.5–1.5 m, sometimes moundlike. |
Stems | erect, spreading, or weakly ascending, sometimes arcuate, rooting at proximal nodes; branchlets reddish to grayish brown, sometimes glaucous, rigid, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. |
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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. |
sometimes fascicled, not crowded; petiole 1–3 mm; blade flat to slightly cupped, slightly folded lengthwise adaxially, widely elliptic to suborbiculate, 10–20 × 8–19 mm, base rounded, margins thick to slightly revolute, dentate to denticulate most of length, teeth 9–15, apex rounded, abaxial surface pale green, glabrous except on veins, adaxial surface dark green, glabrous. |
Inflorescences | terminal, usually racemelike, rarely paniclelike, 2.5–9 cm. |
axillary, 1.2–2.1 cm. |
Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary usually pale to deep blue, rarely white. |
sepals, petals, and nectary pale blue to blue. |
Capsules | 3–4 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth, viscid, not crested. |
6–9 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth to rugulose, horns subapical, prominent, erect, rugose, intermediate ridges present. |
2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus pinetorum |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Sandy or rocky flats and slopes, maritime chaparral, open sites in mixed evergreen and conifer forests. | Rocky granitic or metamorphic slopes and ridges, open pine forests. |
Elevation | 10–600 m. (0–2000 ft.) | 1600–2600 m. (5200–8500 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.) |
Ceanothus pinetorum occurs disjunctly in the southern Trinity Mountains (Shasta and Trinity counties) and in the southern Sierra Nevada (Kern and Tulare counties). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 90. | FNA vol. 12, p. 106. |
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) | Coville: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 4: 80, plate 6. (1893) |
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