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

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]

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
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