Ceanothus cuneatus var. ramulosus

Buck brush

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Buck brush is a California native shrub found in southern Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, southern South Coast Ranges, and western Transverse Ranges in sandy and serpentine chaparral substrates at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces pale blue to lavender and occasionally white flowers. Growing as a dense, mound-like shrub to 1.5 meters tall with erect and spreading stems that arc gracefully, it features brown twigs. Its leaves are distinctively arranged two per node, with widely obovate blades 5 to 15 millimeters long and 3 to 12 millimeters wide, often with a truncate or notched tip and occasionally few sharp teeth near the leaf end. The shrub forms a compact, intricate silhouette characteristic of chaparral environments.

Habitat: Sandy substrates, serpentine, chaparral

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: s CCo, SnFrB, s SCoRO, w TR.

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Napa, Monterey, Marin, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Alameda, San Benito, Lake, Mendocino, Trinity, Solano, Contra Costa, Ventura, San Mateo

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