Ceanothus pauciflorus

de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle

Prodr. 2: 33. 1825.

Illustrated
Synonyms: Ceanothus greggii A. Gray C. greggii var. franklinii S. L. Welsh C. vestitus Greene
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 12. Treatment on page 107. Mentioned on page 94, 96, 99.

Shrubs, 0.2–2 m, sometimes moundlike. Stems erect or weakly ascending to spreading, not rooting at nodes; branchlets light gray to ashy gray, rigid, puberulent to tomentulose, hairs curly or wavy, glabrescent. Leaves not fascicled; petiole (0–) 1–3 mm; blade flat to ± cupped, elliptic, oblongelliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 5–15 (–20) × 3–14 (–15) mm, base cuneate to rounded, margins thick, not revolute, entire or remotely denticulate, teeth 1–5 (–7), apex acute to ± truncate, abaxial surface pale green to grayish green, glabrate or puberulent, hairs curly or wavy, glabrescent, adaxial surface grayish green, puberulent, hairs curly or wavy, glabrescent. Inflorescences axillary, rarely racemelike, 0.7–3 cm. Flowers: sepals and petals white to cream, sometimes pale blue or lavender; nectary yellowish green, brown, or blue. Capsules 3.5–6 mm wide, not, or sometimes weakly, lobed; valves smooth, horns lateral, prominent to minute or absent, spreading, intermediate ridges absent.


Phenology: Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat: Rocky slopes, ridges, alluvial fans, sagebrush and montane shrublands, pinyon and/or juniper and montane conifer woodlands.
Elevation: 900–2900.

Distribution

V12 630-distribution-map.jpg

Ariz., Calif., Nev., N.Mex., Tex., Utah, n, c Mexico

Discussion

Ceanothus pauciflorus as circumscribed here includes plants having flat to cupped leaf blades with a sparse to dense but not intertwined indumentum composed of short curly or wavy hairs, at least when young; this indumentum also occurs on the petiole and ultimate branchlets. Such plants in the United States have been treated either as C. greggii or C. vestitus (M. Van Rensselaer and H. McMinn 1942). However, R. McVaugh (1998) and D. O. Burge and K. Zhukovsky (2013) provided evidence that they should be treated as C. pauciflorus. Specimens from the desert slopes of the Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains, California, and a few scattered localities in western Arizona, have leaves similar in shape and dentation to those of C. perplexans, suggesting local hybridization.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thick" is not a number.

... more about "Ceanothus pauciflorus"
pale green +  and grayish green +
puberulent +  and glabrate +
perigynous +  and epigynous +
acute +  and more or less truncate +
Clifford L. Schmidt† +  and Dieter H. Wilken +
de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle +
cuneate +  and rounded +
Ceanothus sect. Cerastes +
3-veined +  and veined +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
not gland-dotted +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
3[-5]-veined +  and pinnate +
spinulose +, spinose +, serrate +  and entire +
denticulate +, dentate +, crenulate +, crenate +  and serrulate +
suborbiculate;obovate;suborbiculate;obovate;oblongelliptic;elliptic +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
not thorn-tipped +
puberulent +  and tomentulose +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
Ariz. +, Calif. +, Nev. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, Utah +, n +  and c Mexico +
900–2900. +
Rocky slopes, ridges, alluvial fans, sagebrush and montane shrublands, pinyon and/or juniper and montane conifer woodlands. +
glabrescent +
wavy +  and curly +
minute +
free +  and adnate +
shallowly cupulate +  and hemispheric +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
denticulate;entire;not revolute +
blue;brown;blue;brown;yellowish green +
intrastaminal +
superior +  and inferior +
not fleshy +
perigynous +  and epigynous +
lavender +, pale blue +, white +  and cream +
adnate +  and distinct +
6 +  and 5 +
clawed +, obovate +  and spatulate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
Flowering Feb–May. +
2-4-carpellate +
intermediate +
lavender +, pale blue +, white +  and cream +
distinct +
spreading +  and incurved +
6 +  and 5 +
keeled;lanceolate;deltate +
Illustrated +
not rooting +
weakly ascending +  and spreading +
Ceanothus greggii +, C. greggii var. franklinii +  and C. vestitus +
Ceanothus pauciflorus +
Ceanothus subg. Cerastes +
species +
paniclelike +  and racemelike +
not gland-tipped +
unarmed +  and armed +
polygamous +, dioecious +  and synoecious +