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Ceanothus is a genus of about 50-60 species of shrubs or small trees in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. The genus is confined to North America, with the center of its distribution in California but some species (e.g. C. americanus) in the eastern United States and southeast Canada, and others (e.g. C. coeruleus) extending as far south as Guatemala. Most are shrubs 0.5-3 m tall, but C. arboreus and C. thyrsiflorus, both from California, can be small trees up to 6-7 m tall.

Flowers of Ceanothus cuneatus, at Pinnacles National Monument, California

The majority of the species are evergreen, but the handful of species adapted to cold winterThis article is about the winter season. For other uses of the term, see winter (disambiguation). Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. Astronomically, it begins with the winter solstice (around December 21 in the Northern hemisphere and Js are deciduousDeciduous means "temporary" or "tending to fall off". Deciduous plants are those that lose their foliage for part of the year. In most cases, the foliage loss coincides with the incidence of winter in temperate or polar climates, but some plants lose thei. The leaves are opposite or alternate (depending on species), small (typically 1-5 cm long), simple, and mostly with serrated margins. The flowers are white, blue, pale purple or pink, maturing into a dry, three-lobed seed capsule.

Many of the Californian species are known as California-lilac, but not surprisingly, the species found elsewhere have other common names, e.g. New Jersey Tea for C. americanus. In garden use, most are simply called by their scientific names or an adaptation of the scientific name, e.g. Maritime Ceanothus for C. maritimus.

Many species are popular garden ornamentals, and dozens of hybrids and cultivarA cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant species. Modern cultivars are often, but not necessarily, hybrids between species; they may equally well represent particularly desirable selections from populations of a single species. Cultivars generally ars have been selected.