''Ceanothus oliganthus'' 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 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 ...

known by the common name hairy ceanothus or hairy-leaf ceanothus.Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd Ed., 2000, p. 167 The variety of this species known as jimbrush (var. ''sorediatus'') is sometimes treated as a separate species.

Habitat and range

It occurs in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and Baja California,Jepson Herbarium
/ref> where it occurs through all of the coastal mountain ranges in dry habitat such as

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

Description

This is a large, erect shrub approaching 3 meters in maximum height.

Leaves and stems

The stipules (small leaf-like structures on the stems at the base of the leaf stem, are thin and fall off early. The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and may be up to 4 centimeters long. They are dark green on top, paler and hairy on the underside, and are edged with glandular teeth. Leaves have 3 main veins rising from the base. Leaves have a toothed edge. The leaf is covered with short, soft hairs on the top. Branchlets are flexible, not stiff.

Inflorescence and fruit

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 cluster or series of clusters of blue or purple flowers. The fruit is a capsule which may be hairy or not, depending on variety. The fruit is not horned. It blooms April to May.

References

External links

Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Ceanothus oliganthus''''Ceanothus oliganthus'' — U.C. Photo gallery
oliganthus Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora of Baja California Plants described in 1838 Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall Flora of Baja California Sur {{Rhamnaceae-stub