Taxon Report

Ceanothus purpureus Jeps.

holly-leaved ceanothus

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Ceanothus purpureus, commonly known as holly-leaved ceanothus, is a perennial evergreen shrub in the Rhamnaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, and Cismontane woodland, growing at elevations from 120 to 640 meters. Ceanothus purpureus is ranked 1B.2, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Ceanothus purpureus Jeps.
Common Name:	holly-leaved ceanothus
Family:	Rhamnaceae
Element Code:	PDRHA04160
USDA Plants Symbol:	CEPU2
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial evergreen shrub
Blooming Period: Feb-Jun	Feb-Jun
Elevation:	120-640 (395-2100)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Cismontane woodland
Microhabitat:	Rocky, Volcanic
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.2
Global Rank:	G2
State Rank:	S2
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_SBBG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	43
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	4
Good (B)	6
Fair (C)	1
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	1
Unknown (U)	31

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Napa (NAP), Solano (SOL), Sonoma (SON)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Camp Meeker (3812248), Capell Valley (3812242), Cazadero (3812351), Detert Reservoir (3812265), Duncans Mills (3812341), Fort Ross (3812352), Guerneville (3812258), Kenwood (3812245), Mt. George (3812232), Santa Rosa (3812246), Sebastopol (3812247), St. Helena (3812254), Yountville (3812243)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	4
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	8	19 %
Agriculture	7	16%
Road/trail construction/maint.	2	4%
Wood cutting or brush clearing	1	2%
Development	1	2%

Notes



Threatened by agriculture, development, and alteration of fire regimes. See A Flora of Western Middle California , p. 258 (1901) by W. L. Jepson for original description, and Fremontia 15(4):25-26 (1988) for species account.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 2 April 2025].