Ceanothus hearstiorum

Hearsts' ceanothus, Hearsts' Ceanothus

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Hearsts' ceanothus is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in northwestern San Luis Obispo County along coastal bluffs at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces blue flowers in compact umbel-like clusters 1 to 4 centimeters long. Growing as a dense, mat-like shrub less than 0.3 meters tall with flexible green to brownish twigs, it forms a low, spreading ground cover. Its evergreen leaves are small and leathery, approximately 9 to 17 millimeters long, with dark green upper surfaces covered in glandular bumps and whitish undersides. Its distinctive compact form and glandular leaves make it well-adapted to the harsh coastal bluff environment.

Habitat: Coastal bluffs

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: CCo (nw San Luis Obispo Co.).

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Alameda

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