Ceanothus griseus description

Ceanothus griseus

(W. Trelease) H. McMinn, Ceanothus 2: 210. 1942

Carmel ceanothus

C. grisus var. horizontalis , H. McMinn; Ceanothus thyrsiflorus J. F. Eschschscholtz var. griseus W. Trelease

Description:

Habit: Shrubs to 2.5 m.

Stems: prostrate to erect, not rooting at nodes; twigs greenish-brown, angled, smooth, puberulent, flexible.

Leaves: evergreen, alternate; not clustered; stipules thin, deciduous; petioles 5--10 mm; blade broad- to round-ovate, 1.3--5.0 x 1.0--2,2 cm, bases rounded, 3-veined, margins revolute, sometimes slightly, serrate, +/- undulate between t eeth, tips obtuse, abaxially gray-green, short-tomentose to silky, adaxially dark green, glabrous, plane or +/- convex.

Inflorescences: axillary, densely panicle-like, 1.9--5.0 cm.

Flowers: blue.

Fruits: subglobose, +/- 4 mm broad, glandular sticky when young, shiny when mature, horns 0; valve crests 0.

Cytology:

Flowering: in spring.

Habitat: Coastal scrub, closed-cone pine forests; below 200 m.

Range: Calif. [NCo, NCoRO, CCo, SnFrB, SCoRO] View Distribution Map.

Other Information:

Prostrate shrubs around Yankee Point, central coast, Monterey co., Calif. have been named var. horizontalis H. E. McMinn and in the horticultural trade may be called 'Carmel Creeper'. [B. Perry 1981] Ceanothus X veitchianus W.J. Hooker. An apparently inter-subgeneric hybrid putatively C. griseus X C. rigidus was collected in the Monterey Bay region and sent to nurseries in England. [H. E. McMinn 1942]

If you have any comments or information regarding this species, please send mail to Dr. Schmidt.