Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus velutinus |
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blue blossom, blue blossom ceanothus |
greasewood, mountain balm, snowbrush, snowbrush ceanothus, sticky-laurel, tobacco-brush, varnish-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, sometimes arborescent, evergreen, 1–6 m. Stems ascending to erect, not rooting at nodes; branchlets brown, not thorn-tipped, round in cross section, flexible or ± rigid, puberulent, glabrescent. | ||||
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 9–32 mm; blade aromatic, flat, widely elliptic to ovate-elliptic, (25–)40–80(–130) × (13–)20–55(–60) mm, leathery, resinous, base subcordate to rounded, margins glandular-serrulate, teeth 93–150+, apex obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, velvety puberulent, especially on veins, or glabrous, adaxial surface dark green, shiny, glabrous; 3-veined from base. |
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Inflorescences | terminal, usually racemelike, rarely paniclelike, 2.5–9 cm. |
axillary, paniclelike, 5–12 cm. |
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Flowers | sepals, petals, and nectary usually pale to deep blue, rarely white. |
sepals and petals cream; nectary yellow-tinged. |
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Capsules | 3–4 mm wide, weakly lobed; valves smooth, viscid, not crested. |
3–4 mm wide, lobed at apex; valves smooth or ± rugose, sometimes viscid, weakly crested or not crested. |
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2n | = 24. |
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Ceanothus thyrsiflorus |
Ceanothus velutinus |
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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; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; WA; WY; AB; BC
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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). A common shrub on mountain slopes, Ceanothus velutinus, which reproduces by both seeds and layering, often forms large colonies, especially following fires or forest clearing. The leaves of C. velutinus are strongly aromatic (often vanilla-scented) when crushed, and the adaxial faces, especially in var. laevigatus, appear varnished. An infusion of leaves of Ceanothus velutinus was used by Native Americans in cleansing and to treat skin inflammations (D. E. Moerman 1998). (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. 83. | ||||
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) | Douglas: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 125, plate 45. (1831) | ||||
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