Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

Blueblossom

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: tree · Native

Blueblossom is a California native tree found in coastal and interior mountain ranges in chaparral, coastal scrub, and coniferous forest habitats. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces stunning light to deep blue (occasionally white) flowers in compact raceme-like clusters 1.5 to 7 centimeters long. Growing up to 6 meters tall with flexible, angled green twigs, it develops an open, occasionally tree-like form with spreading branches. Its evergreen leaves are oblong-ovate to widely elliptic, 10 to 39 millimeters long, dark green on top and paler underneath, with gland-toothed margins and obtuse to rounded tips. The fruit is small and sticky, measuring 2.5 to 4 millimeters wide.

California counties: Humboldt, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Alameda, San Francisco, Orange, Kern, Ventura, Del Norte, Santa Clara, San Bernardino, Yolo, Sonoma, Plumas, Lake, Contra Costa, Siskiyou, El Dorado, Trinity, Riverside

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