Ceanothus spinosus

Ceanothus spinosus, with the common names greenbark and redheart, is a species of Ceanothus.[1] It is native to southern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in the scrub and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges.

Ceanothus spinosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ceanothus
Species:
C. spinosus
Binomial name
Ceanothus spinosus
Natural range of Ceanothus spinosus in California chaparral and woodlands habitats.

Growth pattern

Ceanothus spinosus is a large treelike shrub approaching 6 metres (20 ft) in maximum height.[1]

Leaves and stems

Leaves have a single main vein rising from the leaf base.[1] The thick, firm evergreen leaves are hairless, oval, and up to an inch wide, with smooth margins.[1]

The bark is smooth and olive green, giving rise to its common name.[1] The stem is a rough-barked trunk near the base. Branches are stiff and sharp, or spiny, at the tips.[1] "Ceanothus" means "spiny plant" in Greek, and the species name, "spinosus", means that it is even more spiny.[1]

The stipules (small leaf-like structures at the base of the leaf stem) are thin and fall off early.[1]

Inflorescence and fruit

The shrub blooms in inflorescences up to 15 centimeters long filled with clusters of white to pale blue flowers.[1] The fruit is a smooth, round capsule about half a centimeter wide containing three lobes.

Fruits do not have horns, as do some other members of the genus.[1]

It blooms from February to May.[1]

References
  1. FLowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd Ed. p. 167
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