Little-leaf ceanothus Little-leaf ceanothus

Ceanothus integerrimus Hooker & Arnott var. parvifolius S. Watson in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 1: 102. 1876, [illegitimate name] based on C. integerrimus var. parviflorus S. Watson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 334. 1875

Shrubs, deciduous, 1–2.5 m. Stems ± erect or ascending, not rooting at nodes; branchlets green, not thorn-tipped, round in cross section, flexible, tomentulose, glabrescent. Leaves not fascicled; petiole 1.5–5 mm; blade flat, oblong-elliptic to elliptic, 6–25 × 3–13 mm, base cuneate, margins usually entire, sometimes denticulate distally, teeth 3–5, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface pale green, usually glabrous, veins sometimes strigillose, adaxial surface green, ± shiny, glabrous; pinnately veined or ± 3-veined from base. Inflorescences axillary, racemelike, 3–8 cm. Flowers: sepals and petals pale to deep blue; nectary blue. Capsules 4–5 mm wide, usually not lobed, sometimes weakly lobed; valves smooth, weakly viscid, usually not crested, sometimes weakly crested. 2n = 24.

Flowering May–Jul. Open sites and flats, conifer forests; 1300–2100 m; Calif.

Ceanothus parvifolius is restricted to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada from Plumas County south to Tulare County. Putative hybrids with C. cordulatus have been reported (H. McMinn 1944).