Fendler's Ceanothus
Ceanothus fendleri
Buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae)
Fendler's Ceanothus (Ceanothus fendleri) often grows in small clumps in forested areas, but it can spread over hundreds of square feet in more open areas. Tiny puffs of flowers in numerous clumps surmount narrow dark green leaves on this low, spreading, somewhat spiny shrub. Ceanothus fendleri commonly grows to three feet tall and is almost always wider than tall. Ceanothus fendleri is fairly common in coniferous open woods, and it attracts attention with its numerous bright white flowers. Where you find one shrub, you almost always will find several.
Linnaeus named this in 1753 and in 1849 Asa Gray named this species from a specimen collected near Santa Fe, New Mexico by Augustus Fendler in 1847. "Ceanothus" is Greek referring to a kind of Thistle. Augustus Fendler was a well-known nineteenth century plant collector.
©2012 Anthony Mendoza
