Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus spinosus |
|
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blue blossom, blue blossom ceanothus |
green-bark ceanothus, redheart |
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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, sometimes arborescent, evergreen, 2–6 m. Stems erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets green, thorn-tipped or not, round to ± angled in cross section, rigid, glabrous or sparsely 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. |
not fascicled; petiole 4–7 mm; blade ± cupped, elliptic to oblong, 11–35 × 8–29 mm, base cuneate to rounded, margins entire, apex obtuse to weakly retuse, abaxial surface pale green, not glaucous, sometimes puberulent on midribs, adaxial surface green, shiny, glabrous; pinnately veined. |
Inflorescences | terminal, usually racemelike, rarely paniclelike, 2.5–9 cm. |
axillary, paniclelike, 4–17 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. |
4–6 mm wide, not lobed; valves smooth, not conspicuously viscid, not or weakly crested. |
2n | = 24. |
= 24. |
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus spinosus |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | Flowering Jan–May. |
Habitat | Sandy or rocky flats and slopes, maritime chaparral, open sites in mixed evergreen and conifer forests. | Rocky slopes, coastal sage scrub, chaparral. |
Elevation | 10–600 m. (0–2000 ft.) | 60–900 m. (200–3000 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
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CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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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.) |
Like Ceanothus incanus, plants of C. spinosus are polymorphic for the presence of thorn-tipped branchlets. Putative hybrids with C. thyrsiflorus and C. oliganthus var. sorediatus have been reported (M. Van Rensselaer and H. McMinn 1944). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 90. | FNA vol. 12, p. 86. |
Parent taxa | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus | Rhamnaceae > Ceanothus > subg. Ceanothus |
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) | Nuttall: in J. Torrey and A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 267. (1838) |
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