''Ceanothus cuneatus'' is a species of flowering

shrub A shrub (often also called a 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 ...

known by the common names buckbrush and wedgeleaf ceanothus.

Distribution

This ''

Ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of Actinorhizal plant, nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceano ...

'' is native to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and northern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, where it can be found in a number of habitats, especially

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

Description

''Ceanothus cuneatus'' is a spreading bush, rounded to sprawling, reaching up to three meters in height. The evergreen leaves are stiff and somewhat tough and may be slightly toothed along the edges. The bush flowers abundantly in short, thick-stalked

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s bearing rounded bunches of tiny flowers, each about half a centimeter wide. The fragrant flowers are white, sometimes tinted strongly with blue or lavender. The fruit is a round capsule with horns. It is about half a centimeter wide and contains three shiny dark seeds which are dispersed when the capsule explodes and propels them some distance.

Harvester ant Harvester ant, also known as harvesting ant, is a common name for any of the species or genera of ants that collect seeds (called seed predation), or mushrooms as in the case of '' Euprenolepis procera'', which are stored in the nest in commu ...

s have been known to catch the seeds, which can lie dormant for a long time since fire is required for germination. This plant may be variable in appearance because it hybridizes easily with similar species. While this shrub has a wide distribution in its range, certain varieties of the species are limited to small areas. The Monterey ceanothus (var. ''rigida''), for example, is found only between the southern edge 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 ...

and

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...

Ecology

It is a larval host to the California hairstreak, California tortoiseshell, ceanothus silkmoth, echo blue,

hedgerow hairstreak ''Satyrium saepium'', the hedgerow hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America, from British Columbia south through California into Baja California and east through northern Arizona to northern New M ...

Pacuvius duskywing ''Erynnis pacuvius'', the Pacuvius duskywing, Dyar's duskywing or buckthorn dusky wing, is a skipper butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in most of the western United States and in southern British Columbia.

, western green hairstreak, and white-streaked saturnia moth.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Ceanothus cuneatus'' (Buck brush, Wedgeleaf ceanothus) Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Ceanothus cuneatus''USDA Plants Profile for ''Ceanothus cuneatus'' (buckbrush)UC Photos gallery of ''Ceanothus cuneatus'' (buckbrush)
cuneatus Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) 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 Plants described in 1838 Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall Butterfly food plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Rhamnaceae-stub