A modern reference to temperate woody plants, including updated content from this site and much new material, can be found at Trees and Shrubs Online.

Ceanothus ovatus Desf.

Modern name

Ceanothus herbaceus Raf.

A deciduous shrub 2 to 3 ft high, with viscid, slightly downy young stems. Leaves alternate, narrow oval, 1 to 212 in. long, 12 to 1 in. wide, bluntish or pointed at the apex, tapered or rounded at the base; glabrous and glossy, or slightly hairy beneath; stalk slender, 16 to 14 in. long. Flowers white, produced in short-stalked, rounded clusters, the whole forming a loose panicle.

Native of S.E. and Central United States. It differs from C. americanus by its smoother, differently shaped leaves, never heart-shaped at the base, and shorter-stalked flower clusters. It flowers from June onwards, but the true plant is not common in gardens.

var. pubescens (Torr. & Gr.) S. Wats. – This variety is similar to the type in habit, but the young shoots and the under-surface of the leaves are permanently downy.


Genus

Ceanothus

Other species in the genus