Pinemat, Ceanothus prostratus

About Pinemat (Ceanothus prostratus) 11 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Ceanothus prostratus is a species of shrub in the Buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae) known by the common names prostrate ceanothus and mahala mat. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, into northern California and Nevada, where it grows in coniferous forest and open plateau. This is a flat, mat-forming shrub growing 6 inches tall up to about 8 ft. wide. The evergreen leaves are oppositely arranged, oval in shape with several large, sharp teeth along the edges. The upper surface is green and hairless, and the underside is paler in color and feltlike in texture. The flower cluster is a small cluster of deep blue or purple flowers. The fruit is a wrinkled capsule one half to one centimeter long.

Ceanothus prostratus grows in the understory of mixed conifer forests, from foothills to subalpine areas. It also inhabits open flats and ridges in areas of low chaparral as well as dry interior forest ecosystems. It can be found from elevations ranging between 1,000 and 9,000 ft. It is notoriously difficult to grow due to unknown factors.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

3.6 - 7.2 in tall
3 - 6 ft wide

Form

Spreading, Mounding

Growth Rate

Fast, Slow

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Slight

Flower Color

Purple, Blue, Green

Flowering Season

Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported

Bees, butterflies, other insects. Plants in the Ceanothus genus are host plants to the Spring Azure, Echo Blue, Pacuvius Duskywing, California Tortoiseshell, Pale Swallowtail, and Hedgerow Hairstreak butterflies.
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 78 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinusStrymon melinus

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedonPapilio eurymedon

Lorquin's Admiral Limenitis lorquiniLimenitis lorquini

California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californicaNymphalis californica

The Brown Elfin Callophrys augustinusCallophrys augustinus

Pacuvius Duskywing Erynnis pacuviusErynnis pacuvius

Hedgerow Hairstreak Satyrium saepiumSatyrium saepium

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 11

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -20 - -10° F

Soil Description

Soil requirements are unclear. Soil PH: 5 - 7

Common uses

Groundcovers, Bank Stabilization, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Usually found in the wild with various evergreen, coniferous trees

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: Hot water and 3.5 mos. stratification (2.5 mos. may be sufficient ). Boiling in water 1/2 minute, cooling immediately, then 156 days stratification may give better germination (USDA Forest Service 1974); or 30 mins. in concentrated H2 S04 then 2 mos. stratification (Heit 1971).

Sunset Zones?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 18

Natural Setting

Site Type

Open flats,

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 5.2" - 151.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.38" - 5.65", Coldest Month: 7.3" - 51.1", Hottest Month: 31.0" - 80.8", Humidity: 0.26" - 24.42", Elevation: 140" - 14090"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Mahala Mat, Mahala-mats, Prostrate Ceanothus

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Pinemat

Ceanothus prostratus

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PinematCeanothus prostratus

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Pinemat

Ceanothus prostratus