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Ceanothus

Ceanothus is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. The genus is native to North America, ranging from Canada and the United States south through Mexico to Panama, with the center of diversity in the California floristic province of the western United States and Mexico, where around ~42 species are endemic out of the roughly ~58 species in the genus. Most Ceanothus are shrubs, with some species rarely tree-like while others have a short mat-like habit. Species of Ceanothus can be evergreen or deciduous, may have thorns, and also have a diverse number of petal colors ranging from cream to deep blue to pink. Some reproduce strictly from seed, while others can resprout from their roots after a fire.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

94
accepted species in GBIF
Source: GBIF
2
plants on Plant News
2
research articles
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Other plants in this genus

1 plant
Research across the genus Ceanothus 2 articles

Every article on Plant News that mentions a member of this genus, newest first.

Overlooked tree-root partnerships quietly maintain nitrogen in whole ecosystems

Alder trees lining the creek in your local park are quietly building soil fertility from scratch, no fertilizer required,...

Ceanothus soil-health / nitrogen-fixation

Research Mentions

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