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Plant Profile

Warty-stem Ceanothus (Ceanothus verrucosus)

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Rhamnaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 146876
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 12/15/2020

Description:

The spectacular early winter display of white flowers on this evergreen shrub used to be common through the chaparral habitats of southern California and Baja California. Following expansive development, a few pockets of the shrub are presumed extant through out San Diego County. The 1.5 cm long evergreen leaves are alternately arranged on bumpy stems, an appearance which gives the species the warty stem of its common name.

Where is Warty-stem Ceanothus (Ceanothus verrucosus) located in the wild?

Habitat:

C. verrucosus is tightly tied to chaparral habitats in its range, including southern maritime chaparral and mixed chaparral. It has also been found in coastal sage scrub habitats, usually in areas adjacent to chaparral.

Distribution:

Endemic to San Diego County and Baja California.

States & Provinces:

Warty-stem Ceanothus can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Warty-stem Ceanothus (Ceanothus verrucosus)?

National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation (USDA-ARS)

Not Sponsored

Assigned

Regional Parks Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned

University of California Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned

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, San Diego Zoo Global holds 3 accessions of Ceanothus verrucosus in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 79132 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 2 accessions of Ceanothus verrucosus in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 268 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 3 seed accessions of Ceanothus verrucosus from 3 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 294 maternal plants

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Ceanothus verrucosus has limited habitat and distribution in an area that is growing rapidly. In California is found in western San Diego county. In Baja California, Mexico, its abundance is not known.

04/15/2017

Already heavily impacted by development and the resultant habitat destruction, this threat persists against the extant populations. Specifically road development and maintenance have been noted (CNDDB 2017).

04/15/2017

The known populations lack regular monitoring, and this will need to be done to gain a better picture of the species' status. Of the 67 occurrences listed, 62 are presumed to be extant (CNDDB 2017). Populations range in size from a few to hundreds, occassionally being the dominant species in a patch of chaparral (over 50% shrub cover).

04/15/2017

Seed has been collected and seed research will soon commence.

04/15/2017

Currently, managing the vegetation of chaparral habitats and working to prevent frequent burns are the primary management goals (MSP 2016).

04/15/2017

Monitoring of occurrences will help determine the true status of the species and whether further management actions are needed.

04/15/2017

To ensure the genetic diversity of the species is being conserved, seed collections should be made across the existing occurrences. The species can be found in nurseries, and is actually recognized as one of the easier southern California ceanothus species to propagate. It seems to tolerate both summer water tough drought conditions better than most other southern California Ceanothus species. Outplanted individuals do best with monthly watering through its first summer, but being left alone in subsequent years (CNPS 2017).