Ceanothus jepsonii

Ceanothus jepsonii is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names musk brush and Jepson ceanothus.^[2][3]

Ceanothus jepsonii
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rhamnaceae
Genus:	Ceanothus
Species:	C. jepsonii
Binomial name
Ceanothus jepsonii Greene

Ceanothus jepsonii 'albiflorus'

Description

This species of shrub is variable, particularly across its two varieties:

• Ceanothus jepsonii var. jepsonii is a spreading plant growing up to about half a meter tall. It bears inflorescences of blue or purple flowers and spherical fruits.
• Ceanothus jepsonii var. albiflorus is a white-flowered variety approaching a meter in maximum height. Its fruits are more oblong.

Both varieties have firm, toothed evergreen leaves oppositely arranged, curved, often spiny (holly-like), and with their edges turned under. The flowers tend to have a musky odor.

Distribution

It is endemic to California, where it grows in dry, shrubby habitat in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Coast Ranges to the north, often on serpentine soils.