''Ceanothus maritimus'', with the common name maritime ceanothus, is a species of
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
in the buckthorn family
Rhamnaceae
The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales.
The family contains about 55 genera and 950 specie ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a County (United States), county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo ...
, where it is known from only a few occurrences in the vicinity of
Hearst Ranch. It shares the same range as the similarly rare ''
Ceanothus hearstiorum
''Ceanothus hearstiorum'' is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names Hearst Ranch buckbrush and Hearst's ceanothus. This '' Ceanothus'' is endemic to California, where it grows wild only on the hilly coastline of San Luis Obispo C ...
'', growing on the coastal bluffs.
Description
The ''Ceanothus maritimus'' is a spreading or ascending shrub under a meter in height with reddish gray bark aging to gray. The firm evergreen leaves are oppositely arranged, each oval or oblong in shape with a pointed, flat, or notched tip. The leaves are under 2 centimeters long, shiny green on top and woolly underneath, with their edges curled under and sometimes toothed. The
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
is a small cluster of deep blue to off-white flowers. The fruit is a capsule about 6 millimeters long which is generally rounded with tiny horns on top.
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Ceanothus maritimus''USDA Plants Profile''Ceanothus maritimus'' - Photo gallery
maritimus
Endemic flora of California
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of San Luis Obispo County, California
Plants described in 1953
{{Rhamnaceae-stub