Ceanothus pendletonensis

Camp pendleton ceanothus

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Camp pendleton ceanothus is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in rocky habitats at elevations of 110 to 870 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces pale blue flowers in compact racemes less than 8 centimeters long. Growing as a dense, low-spreading shrub under 2 meters tall, it features intricately branched stems with yellowish-green twigs that have rigid, thorn-like tips. Its alternate evergreen leaves are small and distinctive, measuring 2 to 18 millimeters long, with bright green shiny surfaces and light glaucous-green undersides. The fruit is a sticky, depressed-spherical capsule 4 to 5 millimeters wide that becomes slightly wrinkled when dry.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, chaparral

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 110-870 m

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