SNOWBRUSH CEANOTHUS. AKA WILD LILAC
GENESIS NAME: Ceanothus velutinus
DISTRIBUTION: Snowbrush is found from British Columbia and Alberta south to California and east to South Dakota and Colorado.
SEASON: Blooms May & June. Flowers late June thyru August
MEDICAL USE: A boil of this plant is used to induce sweating as a treatment for colds and fevers. The inner root bark is used as a medicine for treating lymphatic disorders, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, and tonsillitis.
POISONOUS:
EDIBILITY:
FEATURES: Snowbrush is easy to identify by its shiny, often sticky, evergreen leaves with 3 main veins. Its small, creamy white flowers are borne in pyramidal clusters. he clusters of fragrant, creamy-white flowers contrast well with the dark, balsam-scented, sticky foliage of this 3-5 ft. broadleaf evergreen shrub. Snowbrush’s stems are stout and much-branched, lending a spreading, round-topped habit. The entire plant is pleasantly aromatic.
Snowbrush is a member of the buckthorn family (family Rhamnaceae), which includes shrubs, woody vines, and small to large trees (rarely herbs). There are about 700 species worldwide.
LEAVES: Glossy, evergreen leaves have a heavy, spicy-resinous fragrance when crushed or wafted into the air on hot days. Alternate leaves, 3–10 cm long, have stalks, 3 main veins from the base, are curled, and are oval- to egg-shaped with finely toothed edges. On the upper surface, leaves are dark green, shiny, somewhat sticky with resin, and often bronze tinged. On the lower surface, leaves are sparsely gray-haired to velvety-haired; specimens in drier areas often have thicker velvet to prevent excess water loss. A pair of stipules (leaf-like appendages), each 1 mm long, attach to stems at leaf stalks
.FRUITS: The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting
DISTRIBUTION: Snowbrush is found from British Columbia and Alberta south to California and east to South Dakota and Colorado.
SEASON: Blooms May & June. Flowers late June thyru August
MEDICAL USE: A boil of this plant is used to induce sweating as a treatment for colds and fevers. The inner root bark is used as a medicine for treating lymphatic disorders, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, and tonsillitis.
POISONOUS:
EDIBILITY:
FEATURES: Snowbrush is easy to identify by its shiny, often sticky, evergreen leaves with 3 main veins. Its small, creamy white flowers are borne in pyramidal clusters. he clusters of fragrant, creamy-white flowers contrast well with the dark, balsam-scented, sticky foliage of this 3-5 ft. broadleaf evergreen shrub. Snowbrush’s stems are stout and much-branched, lending a spreading, round-topped habit. The entire plant is pleasantly aromatic.
Snowbrush is a member of the buckthorn family (family Rhamnaceae), which includes shrubs, woody vines, and small to large trees (rarely herbs). There are about 700 species worldwide.
LEAVES: Glossy, evergreen leaves have a heavy, spicy-resinous fragrance when crushed or wafted into the air on hot days. Alternate leaves, 3–10 cm long, have stalks, 3 main veins from the base, are curled, and are oval- to egg-shaped with finely toothed edges. On the upper surface, leaves are dark green, shiny, somewhat sticky with resin, and often bronze tinged. On the lower surface, leaves are sparsely gray-haired to velvety-haired; specimens in drier areas often have thicker velvet to prevent excess water loss. A pair of stipules (leaf-like appendages), each 1 mm long, attach to stems at leaf stalks
.FRUITS: The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting
DESCRIPTION:
Ceanothus velutinus grows up to 4 meters tall but generally remains under three, and forms colonies of individuals which tangle together to form nearly impenetrable thickets. The aromatic evergreen leaves are alternately arranged, each up to 8 centimeters long. The leaves are oval in shape with minute glandular teeth along the edges, and shiny green and hairless on the top surface.
The plentiful inflorescences are long clusters of white flowers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting. The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified, generally by wildfire, before it can germinate. Like most other ceanothus, this species fixes nitrogen via actinomycetes on its roots.
Ceanothus velutinus is a species of shrub in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, known by the common names Red Root, Snowbrush Ceanothus and Tobacco Brush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in several habitat types including coniferous forest, chaparral, and various types of woodland. In California it is found primarily in the northern half of the state in the Coast Ranges, Sierras, Klamath and Modoc regions. It can grow up to 4 meters tall but generally remains under three, and forms colonies of individuals which tangle together to form nearly impenetrable thickets. The aromatic evergreen leaves are alternately arranged, each up to 8 centimeters long. The leaves are oval in shape with minute hairy teeth along the edges, and shiny green and hairless on the top surface. The plentiful flower clusters are long clusters of white flowers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting. The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified, generally by wildfire, before it can germinate. Like most other Ceanothus, this species fixes nitrogen via actinomycetes on its roots.
The plentiful inflorescences are long clusters of white flowers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting. The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified, generally by wildfire, before it can germinate. Like most other ceanothus, this species fixes nitrogen via actinomycetes on its roots.
Ceanothus velutinus is a species of shrub in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, known by the common names Red Root, Snowbrush Ceanothus and Tobacco Brush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in several habitat types including coniferous forest, chaparral, and various types of woodland. In California it is found primarily in the northern half of the state in the Coast Ranges, Sierras, Klamath and Modoc regions. It can grow up to 4 meters tall but generally remains under three, and forms colonies of individuals which tangle together to form nearly impenetrable thickets. The aromatic evergreen leaves are alternately arranged, each up to 8 centimeters long. The leaves are oval in shape with minute hairy teeth along the edges, and shiny green and hairless on the top surface. The plentiful flower clusters are long clusters of white flowers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting. The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified, generally by wildfire, before it can germinate. Like most other Ceanothus, this species fixes nitrogen via actinomycetes on its roots.