Mason's Ceanothus (Ceanothus masonii)

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Rhamnaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 154612
Lifeform: Subshrub, Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

Ceanothus masonii is a member of the buckthorn family and is endemic to the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County. As its common name suggests, the Bolinas Ceanothus is named after the coastal town Bolinas, CA where, here and along the seashore, you can spot C. masonii growing among the maritime chaparral on the coastal bluffs. Historically, C. masonii was thought to be a possible subspecies of another buckthorn species that also inhabits Point Reyes, Ceanothus gloriosus (the Point Reyes Ceanothus or Glory Mat) but has since been identified as a separate species. C. masonii is a spring bloomer that produces clusters of small, dark blue to purple flowers between March and April.

Where is Mason's Ceanothus (Ceanothus masonii) located in the wild?

Habitat:

C. masonii is a shrub that grows on coastal bluffs with other maritime chaparral.

Distribution:

C. masonii is endemic to Marin County's Point Reyes National Seashore.

States & Provinces:

Mason's Ceanothus can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Mason's Ceanothus (Ceanothus masonii)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

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

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 1 accessions of Ceanothus masonii in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 145 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, California Native Plant Society has collected 1 seed accessions of Ceanothus masonii from 1 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 4 maternal plants