Ceanothus gloriosus var. exaltatus

Glory brush

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Glory brush is a California native shrub found in northern coastal California, including the North Coast Ranges, San Francisco Bay Area, and northern coastal regions at elevations below 500 meters in sandy or rocky substrates. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small blue to purple flowers in compact clusters. Growing to nearly 2 meters tall with spreading and arched stems that do not root at nodes, it forms an open, sculptural shape. Its leaves are widely obovate to nearly round, 13 to 45 millimeters long, with distinctive margins featuring 13 to 35 fine teeth. This shrub is a notable landscape plant with an elegant, architectural form characteristic of California's coastal chaparral zones.

Habitat: Sandy or rocky substrates

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 500 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n SnFrB.

California counties: Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin, Humboldt, Contra Costa

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