STUDIES IN CEANOTHUS. 



205 



nearly flat. From the axils ^of some of the leaves, and from a terminal 

 pair in others, arises a peduiide ? clothed with rusty-browu hairs, and bear- 

 ing a globose bud, or chister of buds (api^arently of very young flowers), 

 surrounded by small, rusty, closely-pressed bractece? But of the nature 

 of these flowers I can make nothing. The whole plant yields, even when 

 not rubbed or bruised, a balsamic odour like that of some Balsam- Poplars, 

 mixed with a powerful astringeucy resembling the smell of young Birch 

 twigs.— It is to be hoped that during his present arduous journey through 

 North-West America, Mr. Douglas will obtain flowering and. fruit-bearing 

 specimens of this singular plant.— Hook, Fl. Bor-Am., i, 124 (1830). 



Through the northern part of its range C. ciineatus is 

 moderately well defined. In the region of the central 

 Sierra Nevada it barely reaches the altitude of 4000 feet, 

 and at this elevation is only 2-3 feet in height with droop- 

 ing branches. In the foothills of the great valley of 

 California it is a rather rigidly upright bush, with white 

 flowers, and often covering a large extent of country; it is 

 above bushes called '• chapparal." In Lake County the 

 prevailing form has very small leaves. In the Coast Range 

 it reaches its largest size, and the flowers run through all 

 the shades from white through lilac to deep purple-blue. 

 No. 95, San Marcos Pass, near Santa Barbara; No. 96, 

 Tamalpais; No. 97, Mt. Hamilton; No. 98, Boulder 

 Creek, Santa Cruz Mountains; No. 99, Tehachapi; No. 

 100, Lake County; No. loi, Leesville, Colusa County; 

 No. 102, Mt. St. Helena; No. 103, Blue Canon, Placer 

 County; No. 104, Cobb Mountain, Lake County; No. 

 105, Sheep Ranch, Calaveras County. The hybrids are 

 all with C. prostratKs and its forms. No. 76, Blue 

 Canon; No. 77 (hybrid with var. diver gens), Cobb 

 Mountain; No. 78 (C. connivens), Sheep Ranch; No. 

 81 (hybrid with viiY. pmetorum), Bradford, Lake County. 

 Var. MACROCARPUS (Nutt.). C. mcgacarfus* 

 15. Ceanothus macrocarpus (Nutt. ! mss. ) : " Branchlets canesceut with a 



* Nuttall, Sylva, ii, 46. Changed because of the earlier C. macrocarpus 

 DC. which is now referred to Colubriun,. 



