''Ceanothus maritimus'', with the common name maritime ceanothus, is a species of

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 ...

in the buckthorn family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large 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 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...

. 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 elsew ...

San Luis Obispo County, California San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a County (United States), county on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 282, ...

, where it is known from only a few occurrences in the vicinity of

Hearst Ranch Hearst may refer to: Places * Hearst, former name of Hacienda, California, United States * Hearst, Ontario, town in Northern Ontario, Canada * Hearst, California, an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, United States * Hearst Island, an i ...

. It shares the same range as the similarly rare ''

Ceanothus hearstiorum ''Ceanothus hearstiorum'' is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names Hearst Ranch buckbrush and Hearst's ceanothus. This '' Ceanothus'' is endemic to California, where it grows wild only on the hilly coastline of San Luis Obispo C ...

'', growing on the coastal bluffs.

Description

The ''Ceanothus maritimus'' is a spreading or ascending shrub under a meter in height with reddish gray bark aging to gray. The firm evergreen leaves are oppositely arranged, each oval or oblong in shape with a pointed, flat, or notched tip. The leaves are under 2 centimeters long, shiny green on top and woolly underneath, with their edges curled under and sometimes toothed. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a small cluster of deep blue to off-white flowers. The fruit is a capsule about 6 millimeters long which is generally rounded with tiny horns on top.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Ceanothus maritimus''USDA Plants Profile''Ceanothus maritimus'' - Photo gallery
maritimus Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of San Luis Obispo County, California Plants described in 1953 {{Rhamnaceae-stub