''Ceanothus confusus'' is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name Rincon Ridge ceanothus. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found else ...

to northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

where it grows in the coastal mountains north of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Its habitats include

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

, woodland, and chaparral.California Native Plant Society Rare Plants Profile
/ref> 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 An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a small cluster of blue or purple flowers. The fruit is a horned capsule about half a centimeter wide.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Ceanothus confusus'' (Rincon ridge ceanothus)Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Ceanothus confusus''USDA Plants Profile for ''Ceanothus confusus'' (Rincon ridge ceanothus) California Native Plant Society, Milo Baker Chapter: "Rincon Ridge Park Sensitive Plant Area"
— ''Ceanothus confusus habitat''.
UC Photos gallery of ''Ceanothus confusus''
confusus Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges ~ Natural history of Lake County, California Natural history of Napa County, California Natural history of Sonoma County, California Endemic flora of the San Francisco Bay Area Plants described in 1939 Taxa named by John Thomas Howell Critically endangered flora of California {{Rhamnaceae-stub