Ceanothus spinosus

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Ceanothus spinosus
Ceanothus spinosus 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ceanothus
Species:
C. spinosus
Binomial name
Ceanothus spinosus
Ceanothus spinosus range map 2.png
Natural range of Ceanothus spinosus in California chaparral and woodlands habitats.

Ceanothus spinosus, with the common names greenbark and redheart, is a species of Ceanothus . [1] It is native to southern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in the scrub and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges.

Contents

Range and habitat

Growth pattern

Ceanothus spinosus is a large treelike shrub approaching 6 metres (20 ft) in maximum height. [1]

Leaves and stems

Leaves have a single main vein rising from the leaf base. [1] The thick, firm evergreen leaves are hairless, oval, and up to an inch wide, with smooth margins. [1]

The bark is smooth and olive green, giving rise to its common name. [1] The stem is a rough-barked trunk near the base.[ citation needed ] Branches are stiff and sharp, or spiny, at the tips. [1] "Ceanothus" means "spiny plant" in Greek, and the species name, "spinosus", means that it is even more spiny. [1]

The stipules (small leaf-like structures at the base of the leaf stem) are thin and fall off early. [1]

Inflorescence and fruit

The shrub blooms in inflorescences up to 15 centimeters long filled with clusters of white to pale blue flowers. [1] The fruit is a smooth, round capsule about half a centimeter wide containing three lobes.

Fruits do not have horns, as do some other members of the genus. [1]

It blooms from February to May. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ceanothus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Ceanothus is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. "Ceanothus" comes from Ancient Greek: κεάνωθος (keanōthos), which was applied by Theophrastus to an Old World plant believed to be Cirsium arvense.

<i>Ceanothus integerrimus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus integerrimus, known by the common name deer brush, is a species of woody shrub in the family Rhamnaceae, native to the western United States in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington. It grows in montane chaparral and woodlands regions, in hardwood forests, and in fir, spruce, and Ponderosa pine plant communities, being most abundant in the California chaparral and woodlands and Sierra Nevada.

<i>Malosma</i> Genus of trees

Malosma is a plant genus which contains only a single species, Malosma laurina, with the common names laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish). Malosma laurina is found along the southern California and Baja California coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

<i>Ceanothus diversifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus diversifolius is a species of flowering shrub known by the common name pinemat. This Ceanothus is endemic to California, where it can be found in the oak and pine forests of several mountain ranges.

<i>Ceanothus confusus</i> Species of shrub

Ceanothus confusus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name Rincon Ridge ceanothus. It is endemic to northern California where it grows in the coastal mountains north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its habitats include coniferous forest, woodland, and chaparral. This is a low, spreading shrub often forming a short mat up to about 1.2 meters wide. The stem is gray-brown with new twigs having a reddish color and fuzzy texture. The evergreen leaves are oppositely arranged. Each is up to 2 centimeters long and oval in shape with 3 to 5 large teeth. The upper surface is shiny green and the underside is paler and feltlike in texture with hairs along the veins. The inflorescence is a small cluster of blue or purple flowers. The fruit is a horned capsule about half a centimeter wide.

<i>Ceanothus cordulatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus cordulatus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names mountain whitethorn and whitethorn ceanothus. It is native to California and adjacent sections of Oregon, Nevada, and Baja California, where it grows on mountain ridges and other forested areas. This is a spreading shrub growing usually wider than tall and up to about 1.5 meters. The stems are gray, with the twigs yellow-green in color and fuzzy in texture when new. The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and up to 3 centimeters long. Each is oval in shape with three ribs and generally not toothed. The leaves may be hairy or not. The inflorescence is panicle-shaped, up to about 4 centimeters long. The flowers are white to off-white with five sepals and five petals. The fruit is a rough, ridged capsule up to half a centimeter long. It has three valves inside, each containing a seed. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant, that is uniquely abundant in old-growth forest conditions when compared to similar types of nitrogen-fixing plants. In addition, Ceanothus cordulatus is known to be an important source of nitrogen patches for significantly longer times than other similar post-disturbance successional shrubs, following disturbance events such as forest fires.

<i>Ceanothus ferrisiae</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus ferrisiae is a rare species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Its common name is coyote ceanothus.

<i>Ceanothus pauciflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus pauciflorus, known by the common name Mojave ceanothus, is a species of flowering shrub in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae. It is native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico, where it grows primarily in shrubland communities at moderate to high elevations. It is characterized by oppositely arranged leaves, corky stipules and white flowers. It was formerly known as Ceanothus greggii.

<i>Ceanothus leucodermis</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus leucodermis, with the common names chaparral whitethorn or chaparral white thorn, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. This Ceanothus is an importance browse for several types of ungulate, such as the mule deer and bighorn sheep, who prefer the new growth and shoots to the older, spiny parts.

<i>Ceanothus oliganthus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus oliganthus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name hairy ceanothus or hairy-leaf ceanothus.

<i>Ceanothus parvifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus parvifolius is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name littleleaf ceanothus or littleleaf whitethorn. This deciduous plant is characterized by its blue flowers and flat topped habit, and is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows on mountain flats and coniferous forest.

<i>Ceanothus pumilus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus pumilus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names dwarf ceanothus and Siskiyou mat.

<i>Ceanothus purpureus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus purpureus, with the common name hollyleaf ceanothus, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to northern California, where it is known only from the Inner North Coast Ranges north of the Bay Area, mainly in Sonoma and Napa Counties. The largest remaining population of this shrub occurs on Mt. George near Napa, where it is protected in a botanical preserve.

<i>Ceanothus roderickii</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus roderickii is a rare species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name Pine Hill ceanothus. It is endemic to western El Dorado County, California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills, such as the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve. It is named after 20th century California flora explorer, botanist, and arboretum director Wayne Roderick.

<i>Ceanothus sanguineus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus sanguineus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name redstem ceanothus. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Montana to far northern California; it is also known from Michigan. It grows in temperate coniferous forest habitat in forest openings amidst the conifers. This is an erect shrub approaching 3 meters in maximum height. Its stem is red to purple in color, its woody parts green and hairless when new. The deciduous leaves are alternately arranged and up to about 10 centimeters long. They are thin, light green, oval, and generally edged with glandular teeth. The undersides are sometimes hairy. The inflorescence is a cluster of white flowers up to about 12 centimeters long. The fruit is a three-lobed smooth capsule about 4 millimeters long. This shrub is an important food plant for wild ungulates such as the Rocky Mountain Elk, it is browsed eagerly by many types of livestock, and the seed is consumed by many types of animals.

<i>Ceanothus sonomensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus sonomensis, with the common name Sonoma ceanothus, is a rare species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to northern California.

<i>Ceanothus verrucosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus verrucosus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names wart-stem ceanothus, barranca brush, coast lilac and white coast ceanothus. It is endemic to northwestern Baja California and San Diego County, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and coastal succulent scrub habitats. It is considered a rare species north of the international border, as most of the valuable coastal land that hosts this plant in the San Diego area has been claimed for development. In California, several extant populations still remain scattered around the region, such as one protected at Torrey Pines.

<i>Menodora spinescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Menodora spinescens is a species of flowering plant in the olive family known by the common name spiny menodora. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in varied mountain, canyon, and desert habitat in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

<i>Rhamnus ilicifolia</i> Species of plant

Rhamnus ilicifolia is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by the common name hollyleaf redberry. It is native to western North America, where it is a common plant growing in many types of habitat, including chaparral and wooded areas, from Oregon through California, to Baja California and Arizona.

<i>Ceanothus herbaceus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus herbaceus, also known as Jersey tea, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae and is similar to Ceanothus americanus and Ceanothus sanguineus. It is a perennial shrub which is native to North America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 FLowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd Ed. p. 167