Ceanothus hearstiorum
Four Seasons 2(1): 4. 1966.
Shrubs, evergreen, 0.1–0.3 m, matlike or moundlike. Stems spreading or prostrate, not rooting at nodes, some flowering branches ascending; branchlets green to reddish-brown, not thorn-tipped, round or slightly angled in cross-section, flexible, densely puberulent. Leaves: petiole 1–2 mm; blade flat to cupped, linear, oblong, or oblong-obovate, 8–20 × 2–10 mm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins entire or obscurely glandular-denticulate, weakly revolute, glands 23–31, apex truncate or retuse, abaxial surface green, densely tomentulose, adaxial surface dark green, glandular-papillate and sometimes villosulous; pinnately veined, veins ± furrowed. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, umbellike or racemelike, 1–5 cm. Flowers: sepals, petals, and nectary deep blue. Capsules 4–5 mm wide, not lobed to weakly lobed; valves smooth, not crested.
Phenology: Flowering Mar–Apr.
Habitat: Consolidated alluvial or serpentine soils, maritime chaparral, coastal prairies.
Elevation: 20–200 m.
Discussion
Ceanothus hearstiorum occurs in a small area of coastal bluffs in northern San Luis Obispo County, growing in close proximity to another local endemic, C. maritimus (subg. Cerastes).
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
"thin" is not a number.