320 CEANOTHUS 



C. THYRSIFLORUS, Eschscholtz. CALIFORNIAN LlLAC. 



An evergreen shrub or small tree, 15 to 30 ft. high in this country, but half 

 as high again in a wild state. Young branchlets angled, slightly downy or 

 smooth. Leaves alternate, three-veined, smooth and glossy green above ; 

 green and either smooth or downy on the three veins beneath ; glandular- 

 toothed, ovate, I to \\ ins. long ; leaf-stalk about one-third the length of the 

 blade. Flowers pale blue, in roundish stalked clusters I to 3 ins. long, pro- 

 duced from the leaf-axils of the previous season's growth, and surmounted by 

 the growing leafy shoots of the current season. 



Native of California ; introduced in 1837. According to Sargent it attains 

 its greatest size in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, This, 

 which is often seen in gardens and nurseries under the wrong name of 

 C. divaricatus, is the hardiest of the taller-growing Ceanothuses. At Kew, 

 quite unprotected, and in an exposed position, it has grown 20 ft. high, and 

 withstood all but the severest winters uninjured ; at Warley Place, in Essex, it 

 is 10 ft. higher. Farther north it will make an admirable evergreen for walls. 

 It flowers in May and June in great profusion, and is the most striking among 

 the really hardy species. It exhibits considerable variation in a wild state, in 

 stature, size of leaf, and in the colour of the flowers, which are sometimes 

 almost white. The basal pair of veins extend almost to the apex of the leaf. 



Var. GRISEUS, Trelease. A very vigorous, large-leaved variety, found only 

 in Monterey, California ; it has broader leaves, very glossy deep green above, 

 dull and grey beneath. Flowers pale lilac. The largest leaves are if ins. 

 long by i \ ins. wide. Not so hardy as the type, but an admirable wall plant. 



C. LOBBIANUS, Hooker (Bot. Mag., t. 4811), appears to be near C. 

 ihyrsiflorus. It has been suggested that it is a hybrid between that species 

 and C. dentatus, a theory the combination of three-veined leaves and round 

 branches supports. I am not aware that it has ever been reintroduced or 

 even found again since it was first sent home by W. Lobb from California in 

 the early "fifties" of In st century. It is cultivated sometimes as "dentatus," 

 sometimes as " Veitchianus," from both of which its distinctly three-nerved 

 leaves distinguish it. Flowers bright blue. 



C. VEITCHIANUS, Hooker, 



(Bot. Mag., t. 5127.) 



An evergreen shrub, 10 ft. or more high, with green glossy leaves, which are 

 obovate, wedge-shaped, rounded at the apex, glandular toothed, greyish beneath. 

 Flowers in dense heads i to 2 ins. long, bright deep blue. This plant was 

 originally introduced from California by W. Lobb about 1853. It does not 

 appear to have been found wild since, and is of somewhat uncertain relationship. 

 It has been suggested that it is a hybrid between C. thyrsiflorus and some 

 other species, probably rigidus ; the pinnate veins of the leaf and the greyish 

 under-surface support this view. There is often a suggestion of the triple 

 nerves of C. thyrsiflorus at the base of the leaf. The identity of the plant is 

 also clouded by Hooker's original description in the Botanical Magazine, loc. 

 cit., which alludes to the branchlets as "terete and perfectly glabrous," whereas 

 his own type specimen in the Kew Herbarium has them downy. It is still 

 found in nurseries, sometimes as " C. dentatus," and is a handsome wall 

 shrub ; in sheltered spots it is hardy in the open. 



C. VELUTINUS, Douglas. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 5165.) 



An evergreen shrub, 8 to 10 ft. high (probably more in a wild state), with 

 stout, smooth branchlets. Leaves prominently three-veined, i| to 3 ins. long, 



