B39 



CEANOTHUSES 



Ceano'thus spp. 



Ceanothus is a large North American genus of about 60 species, 

 occurring mostly in the foothills and mountains of the West, and 

 especially California, where at least 30 species are found. About 

 a dozen species are confined to Mexico. They usually are shrubs, 

 averaging 3 to 8 feet in height ; some are deciduous, others are ever- 

 green. Several species, as squawcarpet (G. prostratus) , are char- 

 acteristically prostrate; a few others, including island myrtle (G. 

 arboreus), probably more accurately known as feltleaf ceanothus, 

 and blue myrtle (u. thyrsiflorus) , probably better known as blue- 

 blossom, become small trees under favorable conditions. The 

 branches of a number of species, such as whitethorn (G. cordulatus) 

 and redheart, or spiny myrtle (C. spinosus) y end in spines, but most 

 species have unarmed branches arranged alternately or oppositely 

 along the several stems arising from the base. 



Many species of Ceanothus have individual names as, for example, 

 Jersey-tea, or redroot (G. americanus) , whitethorn, deerbrush, blue- 

 brush, or sweet birch (C. integerrimus) , muskbush (C. jepsonii), 

 squawcarpet, or mahala-mats, and snowbrush (C. velutinus). Un- 

 fortunately, however, there has never been general agreement as 

 to a generic English name for this important group of woody 

 plants. Probably the names in most general use have been bluebush 

 (or bluebrush), buckbrush, lilac, and myrtle. The first is obviously 

 inappropriate for any but blue-flowered plants and flower color is 

 often variable in the same species. Buckbrush, applied indiscrimi- 

 nately to a host of diverse plants, is trite and indefinite. Lilac and 

 myrtle are quite untenable for species of Ceanothus, rightfully ap- 

 plying, as they do, to the very different genera Syringa and Myrtus, 

 respectively. In United States Department of Agriculture Miscel- 

 laneous Publication 101, "Important western browse plants" (1931), 

 at the suggestion of Dr. Frederick V. Coville, of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, the name soapbloom was adopted for species of the 

 section Euceanothus (which embraces the majority of the species of 

 Ceanothus), while hornbrush was adopted for the species of the 

 section Cerastes. Soapbloom refers to the soaplike (saponaceous) 

 properties of the flowers of these plants. Hornbrush refers to the 

 typically hard-leaved (horny) species of the Cerastes section and, 

 more especially, to the horned pods of that group, which some- 

 what suggest the head of a viper (Cerastes). However, since that 

 publication was issued, experience seems to indicate that there is 

 a greater tendency to use ceanothus as an English name for these 

 shrubs than to adopt soapbloom and hornbrush. 



The forage value of Ceanothus species varies from worthless to ex- 

 cellent. Squawcarpet, for example, has tough, spiny leaves and its 

 palatability to livestock is negligible or, at best, low, while deerbrush, 

 which has tender, highly palatable foliage and shoots, is a very valu- 

 able browse. Some species, notably wedgeleaf ceanothus (C. cune- 

 atus), are important constituents of the foothill chaparral. Nearly 



