Ceanothus perplexans

Cupped leaf ceanothus

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Cupped leaf ceanothus is a California native shrub found in eastern Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges in chaparral and open conifer forest at elevations of 305 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white to pale blue flowers in compact umbel-like clusters about 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. Growing to less than 3 meters tall with ascending to erect stems that are gray-brown to light gray and densely hairy when young, it forms an open, occasionally intricately branched structure. Its distinctive evergreen leaves are widely elliptic to nearly round, 10 to 20 millimeters long, with a concave upper surface and 7 to 11 sharp marginal teeth. The compact shrub bears smooth fruits 3 to 5 millimeters wide, often with subtle bulges near the tip.

Habitat: Slopes, flats, chaparral, open conifer forest

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 305-2100 m

Bioregions: e TR, PR

California counties: San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura, Imperial, Tulare, Alameda, Inyo

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