Tas. 4664, 
CEANOTHUS aieipvs. 
Rigid Ceanothus. 
Nat. Ord. RHAMNE#Z.—PENTANDRIA MonoGyNIA. 
Gen. Char. (Vide supra, Tas. 4660.) 
CEANOTHUS rigidus; ramis oppositis, ramulis pubescentibus subangulatis ad nodos 
grosse yerrucosis, foliis oppositis subrotundo-cuneatis fere sessilibus crassis 
rigidis spinoso-dentatis supra glabris nitidis sub lente impresso-punctatis 
subtus reticulatis areolis profundis villosis, umbellis axillaribus basi brac- 
teatis, corollis intense purpureo-ceruleis. 
Cranotuvs rigidus. Nudét. in Torr. et Gr. Fl. of N. Am. v. 1. p. 286. Journ. of 
Hort. Soc. Lond. t.5. p.197. Benth. Plante Hartw. p. 302. Lindl. et 
Paxt. Fl. Gard. v. 1. p. 74 cum Ie. x sate 
een ee 
We are indebted for the possession of this pretty shrub to 
the Horticultural Society of London, who introduced it to the 
English gardens through Mr. Hartweg, of whose dried collections 
it is no. 1680. It inhabits Monterey, in California. Besides 
the specimen from Mr. Hartweg, and original ones from Mr. 
Nuttall, we possess the plant from Dr. Coulter, Mr. Douglas, and 
Mr. Lobb. It is far more rigid and branching even than our 
common Sloe (Prunus spinosa); but then the densely placed 
glossy evergreen foliage, and rich deep purple-blue and copious 
blossoms, early in May, render it a most desirable species for our 
gardens and shrubberies. Our figure is from a good-sized shrub, 
which has braved two winters unharmed in a very exposed part 
of the Kew arboretum.—The North-west American Ceanothuses 
are particularly deserving of cultivation in the open ground ; but 
it may require a Devonshire climate to bring them to the state in 
which they are at Bishopstowe, as just announced to me in a 
letter, dated 27th May, 1852, of the Bishop of Exeter. “The 
Ceanothus divaricatus is now in its highest beauty: the largest 
AUGUST Ist, 1852. 
