Ceanothus prostratus

Mahala mats

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Mahala mats is a California native shrub found in the state's coastal ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills in chaparral and rocky woodland habitats. Flowering from March to May, this low-growing plant produces blue, lavender, or purple flowers in small umbel-like clusters about 1 to 2 centimeters wide. Growing as a dense, spreading ground cover less than 30 centimeters tall, it forms mat-like mounds with red-brown twigs that root at the nodes. Its evergreen leaves are opposite, oblanceolate to obovate, dark green on top and paler underneath, with 3 to 9 sharp teeth along the margins and measuring 9 to 30 millimeters long. The distinctive fruit is wrinkled, roughly 6 to 9 millimeters wide, with small 1 to 2 millimeter horns.

California counties: Modoc, Siskiyou, Nevada, Placer, Calaveras, Shasta, Plumas, Lassen, Sierra, Trinity, Alpine, Butte, Del Norte, El Dorado, Tulare, Tehama, Riverside, Humboldt, Mendocino, Mariposa, Marin, Yuba, Amador, Sonoma, Lake, Inyo, Napa, Tuolumne, Yolo, Fresno, Sacramento

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