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Plant Profile

Pine Hill Ceanothus (Ceanothus roderickii)

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: Federally Endangered
Family: Rhamnaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 154613
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 01/17/2019

Description:

Ceanothus roderickii is a rare species of shrub in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae known by the common name Pine Hill ceanothus. It is endemic to western El Dorado County, California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills, such as the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve. C. roderickiii can grow up to 3 meters wide and flat, forming low brambles or mats. The grayish brown stems root at nodes as they grow horizontally along the ground. The tiny evergreen leaves are oppositely arranged. Each is only about a centimeter long, widely lance-shaped and smooth along the edges or sometimes toothed near the tip. The top surface is green and hairless and the underside is somewhat woolly. The inflorescence is a small cluster of white to pale blue flowers. The fruit is a capsule about half a centimeter long, sometimes bearing small horns on top. It is a federally listed endangered species. It is threatened by several factors, including suppression of the wildfire it requires for reproduction, off-road vehicles, road maintenance and construction, and development. [CNPS: Calscapes]

Where is Pine Hill Ceanothus (Ceanothus roderickii) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Ceanothus roderickii is found almost exclusively on soils of gabbro origin in the Pine Hill Geological Formation within chaparral or oak woodland communities. C. roderickii prefers gabbroic or serpentine-derived soils (characterized by low concentrations of available K, P, S, Fe, and Zn). [CNPS]

Distribution:

Ceanothus roderickii is endemic to western El Dorado County, California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills. There are less than ten remaining occurrences. [CNPS]

States & Provinces:

Pine Hill Ceanothus can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Pine Hill Ceanothus (Ceanothus roderickii)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/13/17

University of California-Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 01/17/19

University of California Davis Arboretum & Public Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 08/18/21

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

Center for Plant Conservation

08/18/2021

In 2021, CPC contracted University of California Davis 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, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden holds 2 accessions of Ceanothus roderickii in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 100 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 roderickii in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 4653 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, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has collected 2 seed accessions of Ceanothus roderickii from 1 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 20 maternal plants

01/01/2010

one or more of the following: urbanization and ensuing habitat fragmentation, inadequate regulatory mechanisms, road construction and maintenance, herbicide spraying, change in fire frequency, off-road vehicle use, unauthorized dumping, horse pad

01/01/2010

restricted to one localized area of approximately 10 known extant occurrences discontinuously scattered in the Pine Hill intrusion