''Ceanothus dentatus'' is a species of
shrub in the family
Rhamnaceae known by the common name sandscrub 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
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 is known only from the
Central Coast and its
Coast Ranges
The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although th ...
. It grows in coastal hills, bluffs, and canyons.
Description
This shrub produces a highly branched, spreading stem up to about 1.5 meters tall. The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and often borne in clusters. Each is under 2 centimeters long, toothed along the edges, wavy and turned under along the margins to appear somewhat ruffled. They are hairy and covered in tiny glandular bumps, the upper surfaces dark shiny green and the undersides paler. 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 many bright blue flowers. The fruit is a lobed, crested capsule about 4 millimeters wide.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
dentatus
Endemic flora of California
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Plants described in 1838
Taxa named by Asa Gray
Taxa named by John Torrey
{{Rhamnaceae-stub