Ceanothus cuneatus var. cuneatus

Buckbrush

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Buckbrush is a California native shrub found in the California Floristic Province (excluding the Channel Islands) and Modoc Plateau in sandy to rocky flats, slopes, and ridges at elevations below 2,133 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces delicate white flowers clustered in small groups. Growing to less than 3 meters tall with generally ascending to spreading stems and gray-brown twigs, it forms a distinctive woodland or chaparral shrub. Its leaves are elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate with acute to rounded tips, typically arranged with some leaves clustered together. The compact, flexible growth and white flower clusters make buckbrush a characteristic component of California's dry, open landscapes.

Habitat: Sandy to rocky flats, slopes, ridges

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: < 2133 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc ChI), MP

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Kern, Tulare, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Riverside, Tehama, Butte, Shasta, Mariposa, El Dorado, San Diego, Stanislaus, Sierra, Amador, Monterey, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Lake, Placer, Tuolumne, Napa, Santa Clara, Modoc, San Bernardino, Humboldt, Santa Cruz, Nevada, San Mateo, San Benito, Sutter, Calaveras, Plumas, Marin, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Madera, Solano, San Joaquin, Trinity, Sonoma, Yolo, Glenn, Contra Costa, Alameda, Colusa, Del Norte, Alpine

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.