ceanothus

leaves opposite, 1-ribbed from base

musk brush
Ceanothus jepsonii

• twig: generally brown
• leaf blade:
• 10–20 mm long, 5–13 mm wide, ± folded lengthwise
• no other leaves are folded lengthwise
• adaxially yellow-green, glabrous
• abaxially ± short-strigose between veins
• margin thick to ± rolled-under, wavy, toothed with 7–11 spines
• others may be toothed, but do not have spines
• Mt. Tam

buckbrush
Ceanothus cuneatus

buckbrush
Ceanothus cuneatus

• twig: generally brown to gray-brown, glabrous to sparsely puberulent
• leaf blade:
• occasionally clustered
• others never clustered?
• 6–30 mm long, 3–18 mm wide
• adaxially dull green, glabrous
• abaxially paler, glabrous to ± strigose
• margin entire or < 5 teeth near tip [not glandular]

coyote ceanothus
Ceanothus ferrisiae

• twig: brown to gray-brown, generally ± short-hairy, not angled
• leaf blade:
• 12–25 mm long, 7–18 mm wide
• adaxially dark green, glabrous
• abaxially paler, short-strigose between evident veins
• margin entire or with 5–35 ± sharp teeth ± evenly distributed
• possibly only historical; near Anderson Lake

point reyes ceanothus
Ceanothus gloriosus

• twig: green, red-brown, or brown, generally angled near tips
• leaf blade
• 13–45 mm long, 5–24 mm wide
• adaxially dark green, glabrous
• abaxially glabrous to puberulent
• margin 13–35 toothed, ± evenly distributed
• rare:Mt. Tamalpais

mason’s ceanothus
Ceanothus masonii

• twig: red-brown to dark brown or gray-brown, generally angled near tips
• leaf blad:
• 7–21 mm long, 4–13 mm wide
• adaxially dark green, glabrous
• abaxially short-strigose
• margin 9–17 toothed, ± evenly distributed
• may be same species as point reyes ceanothus (Ceanothus gloriosus)
• rare: Mt. Tamalpais

leaves alternate, 1-ribbed from base

wartleaf ceanothus
Ceanothus papillosus

wartleaf ceanothus
Ceanothus papillosus

• twig: green to gray-brown
• leaf blade:
• 11–50 mm long, 6–15 mm wide
• adaxially dark green, glandular-papillate (warty)
• abaxially paler, generally densely hairy
• margin rolled under, minutely gland-toothed, teeth 17–31
• Flower: deep blue

wavyleaf ceanothus
Ceanothus foliosus

wavyleaf ceanothus
Ceanothus foliosus

• twig: green to red-green
• leaf blade:
• 5–20 mm long, 3–13 mm wide, ± folded lengthwise
• 1-ribbed or faintly 3-ribbed from base
• adaxially dark green
• abaxially paler, glabrous to puberulent
• margin not rolled under, local varieties are gland-toothed, teeth 31–42
• mostly historical except at Mt. Madonna and Mt. Tamalpais

deerbrush ceanothus
Ceanothus integerrimus var. integerrimus

• twig: generally green
• leaf blade:
• 15–53 mm long, 10–45 mm wide
• adaxially dull green, glabrous to puberulent
• abaxially pale green, glabrous to sparsely short-hairy
• margin generally entire, not rolled under
• mostly Sierra Azul, Big Basin, and Soquel

leaves alternate, 3-ribbed from base

tobacco brush
Ceanothus velutinus

• twig: green to red-brown, flexible
• leaf blade:
• 33–75 mm long, 13–55 mm wide, leathery
• adaxially shiny green, glabrous, ± sticky
• abaxially glabrous to ± puberulent
• margin minutely gland-toothed, teeth 90–150+
• Mt. Tamalpais

blueblossom
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

blueblossom
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

• corolla blue to white
• twig: green, flexible, ridged, angled distally, [glabrous]
• leaf blade:
• 10–39 mm long, 5–20 mm wide
• adaxially dark green, glabrous
• abaxially paler, glabrous to puberulent, veins ± raised
• margin ± gland-toothed

jimbrush
Ceanothus oliganthus var. sorediatus

jimbrush
Ceanothus oliganthus var. sorediatus

• twig: green to reddish, flexible, not ridged or angled, [may be hairy]
• leaf blade:
• 11–30 mm long, 5–25 mm wide
• adaxially dark green, ± glabrous to short-hairy
• abaxially paler, sparsely to densely short-hairy, especially veins
• margin minutely gland-toothed, teeth 20–70

coast whitethorn
Ceanothus incanus

• twig: pale gray to gray-green, rigid, thorn-like or not
• leaf blade:
• 20–50+ mm long, 10–45 mm wide, generally larger than chaparral whitethorn (Ceanothus leucodermis)
• 3-ribbed from base
• adaxially dull green, glabrous to sparsely puberulent
• abaxially gray-green, strigose
• margin generally entire
• uncommon: Santa Cruz Range

chaparral whitethorn
Ceanothus leucodermis

• twig: pale gray to gray-green, rigid, thorn-like
• except where stated, all other twigs are flexible, not thorn-like
• leaf blade:
• 12–30 mm long, 3–15 mm wide. generally smaller than coast whitethorn (Ceanothus incanus)
• 3-ribbed from base
• adaxially dull green, glabrous to sparsely puberulent
• abaxially ± strigose, especially veins
• margin entire to ± glandular-serrate
• rare