Ceanothus velutinus, with the common names snowbrush ceanothus, red root, tobacco brush, and sticky laurel,[1] is a species of shrub in the familyRhamnaceae. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado.
The oval leaves have tiny teeth with glands along the edges.
Ceanothus velutinus grows up to 4 metres (13 feet) tall but generally remains under three, and forms colonies of individuals which tangle together to form nearly impenetrable thickets.[2] The aromatic evergreen leaves are alternately arranged, each up to 8 centimetres (3 inches) long. The leaves are oval in shape with minute glandular teeth along the edges, and shiny green and hairless on the top surface.
The plentiful inflorescences are long clusters of white flowers. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil, where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting.[2] The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified, generally by wildfire, before it can germinate.[2] Like most other Ceanothus, this species fixes nitrogen via actinomycetes in its root nodules.[2]
Distribution and habitatedit
Ceanothus velutinus is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in hills and mountains in several habitat types including open coniferous forest and chaparral, often in rocky soils.[3]
Some Plateau Indian tribes drank a boil of this plant to induce sweating as a treatment for colds, fevers, and influenza. Leaves were also used when rinsing to help prevent dandruff.[5]
Ceanothus velutinus was known as "red root" by many Native American tribes due to the color of the inner root bark, and was used as a medicine for treating lymphatic disorders, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, and tonsillitis.[citation needed]
Referencesedit
^"Snowbrush, Ceanothus velutinus". Native Plants PNW. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
^Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 80. ISBN978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
ceanothus, velutinus, with, common, names, snowbrush, ceanothus, root, tobacco, brush, sticky, laurel, species, shrub, family, rhamnaceae, native, western, north, america, from, british, columbia, california, colorado, scientific, classification, kingdom, plan. Ceanothus velutinus with the common names snowbrush ceanothus red root tobacco brush and sticky laurel 1 is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado Ceanothus velutinus Scientific classification Kingdom Plantae Clade Tracheophytes Clade Angiosperms Clade Eudicots Clade Rosids Order Rosales Family Rhamnaceae Genus Ceanothus Species C velutinus Binomial name Ceanothus velutinusDougl ex Hook Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Uses 4 References 5 External linksDescription edit nbsp The oval leaves have tiny teeth with glands along the edges Ceanothus velutinus grows up to 4 metres 13 feet tall but generally remains under three and forms colonies of individuals which tangle together to form nearly impenetrable thickets 2 The aromatic evergreen leaves are alternately arranged each up to 8 centimetres 3 inches long The leaves are oval in shape with minute glandular teeth along the edges and shiny green and hairless on the top surface The plentiful inflorescences are long clusters of white flowers The fruit is a three lobed capsule a few millimeters long which snaps open explosively to expel the three seeds onto the soil where they may remain in a buried seed bank for well over 200 years before sprouting 2 The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified generally by wildfire before it can germinate 2 Like most other Ceanothus this species fixes nitrogen via actinomycetes in its root nodules 2 Distribution and habitat editCeanothus velutinus is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado where it grows in hills and mountains in several habitat types including open coniferous forest and chaparral often in rocky soils 3 Uses editDeer and elk browse the plant during winter 4 Some Plateau Indian tribes drank a boil of this plant to induce sweating as a treatment for colds fevers and influenza Leaves were also used when rinsing to help prevent dandruff 5 Ceanothus velutinus was known as red root by many Native American tribes due to the color of the inner root bark and was used as a medicine for treating lymphatic disorders ovarian cysts fibroid tumors and tonsillitis citation needed References edit Snowbrush Ceanothus velutinus Native Plants PNW 30 November 2015 Retrieved 16 December 2023 a b c d Forest Service Fire Ecology The Jepson Herbarium Fagan Damian 2019 Wildflowers of Oregon A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers Trees and Shrubs of the Coast Cascades and High Desert Guilford CT FalconGuides p 80 ISBN 978 1 4930 3633 2 OCLC 1073035766 Hunn Eugene S 1990 Nch i Wana The Big River Mid Columbia Indians and Their Land University of Washington Press p 352 ISBN 0 295 97119 3 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ceanothus velutinus category Jepson Manual Treatment Ceanothus velutinus USDA Plants Profile Ceanothus velutinus Ceanothus velutinus Photo gallery nbsp This Rhamnaceae article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ceanothus velutinus amp oldid 1214637903, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
