Ceanothus parvifolius

Little leaf ceanothus

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Little leaf ceanothus is a California native shrub found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on slopes, flats, and in conifer forest at elevations of 1,255 to 2,220 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces blue flowers in raceme or panicle-like clusters 4 to 9 centimeters long. Growing as an open, erect shrub less than 1.5 meters tall with flexible green twigs and spreading to ascending branches, it has a distinctive growth pattern. Its alternate leaves are oblong-elliptic, 8 to 21 millimeters long, shiny green on the upper surface and paler underneath, with entire margins and an obtuse tip. The plant produces sticky fruits 3.5 to 5 millimeters wide with no distinctive horns.

Habitat: Slopes, flats, conifer forest

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1255-2220 m

Bioregions: SNH.

California counties: Tulare, Fresno, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Calaveras, Butte, Madera, El Dorado, Amador, Placer, Lake, Sonoma, Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey, Colusa

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