Ceanothus impressus, with the common name Santa Barbara ceanothus is a species of flowering shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

. This Ceanothus

Ceanothus

Ceanothus L. is a genus of about 50–60 species of shrubs or small trees in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. The genus is confined to North America, the center of its distribution in California, with some species in the eastern United States and southeast Canada, and others extending as far south...

is endemic to the Central Coast of California

Central Coast of California

The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...

, where it can be found on coastal slopes and mesas. Other common names are blueblossom ('blueblos') and California lilac, although the plant is not a lilac (Syringa).

Description

This expansive shrub may exceed three meters-10 feet in height and approach seven m.-28 feet in width. It is thickly branched with dark brown twigs and stem. The evergreen leaves are about 2 centimeters long and oval shaped, highly ridged and wrinkled and curling under along the edges. They may be gland-dotted and have grayish hairy undersides. The shrub flowers abundantly in inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s of small blue flowers. The fruit is a crested spherical capsule about 4 millimeters wide.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery