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Plant Profile

San Diego Ceanothus (Ceanothus cyaneus)

Photo Credit: Joe Davitt

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Rhamnaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 142474
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 03/17/2022

Description:

C. cyaneus is a rare shrub that can grow up to 5 meters in height, produce grayish-green branches with clusters of bright blue and lavender flowers. Its flowering season occurs throughout winter and spring, providing a pleasant fragrance in the colder part of the year (CNPS 2014).

Where is San Diego Ceanothus (Ceanothus cyaneus) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Areas that are dense with chaparral suit C. cynaeus best, as it can grow on dry substrates that cover rocky slopes, foothills and inland valleys. It thrives best on north-facing slopes, but can also grow on east- or west-facing slopes if there water supply nearby (CNPS 2014). Although drought and heat tolerant, this shrub needs a some water to nourish it through the dry summer months (Plant Lust).

Distribution:

This evergreen shrub has been observed in several areas throughout the Peninsular Range of San Diego County, specifically areas including Del Mar, Cuyamaca Peak, El Cajon, Otay Mesa, and even more north in the Cleveland National Forest (CNPS 2015). It can survive at high altitudes, up to 1500 meters (CNPS 2014).

States & Provinces:

San Diego Ceanothus can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve San Diego Ceanothus (Ceanothus cyaneus)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/13/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Joe Davitt

03/07/2022

In 2021, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance recollected seed from a population located in southern San Diego County as part of an IMLS-funded seed longevity experiment. This accession contains about 16,500 seeds collected from 50 maternal lines. Each maternal line was processed individually using a sieve and blower, then counted, weighed, and split. Germination studies show that the seed responds best to either of 2 pretreatments. Sanding or nicking the hard seed coat to allow water into the embryo and then allowing the seed to imbibe for 24 hrs prior to plating on agar or planting the seed works well. Alternatively, we dump boiling water onto the seeds and allow the water to come down to room temperature and the seeds to imbibe in the same water for 24 hrs. When comparing the two pretreatments side by side, the sanding had a slightly better germination percentage and was a little faster, but it was much more time consuming to prepare the seeds. Boiling water was fast and easy with nearly identical results.

Center for Plant Conservation

08/18/2021

In 2021, CPC contracted the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to recollect seed from a population currently held in long term orthodox seed storage as part of an IMLS-funded seed longevity experiment. The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation will evaluate how germination tested viability and RNA Integrity of seed lots decline over time in storage.

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, San Diego Zoo Global holds 5 accessions of Ceanothus cyaneus in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 405905 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 3 accessions of Ceanothus cyaneus in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 80698 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, San Diego Zoo Global has collected 5 seed accessions of Ceanothus cyaneus from 4 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 229 maternal plants