ceanothus

American  

[see-uh-noh-thuhs] / ˌsi əˈnoʊ θəs /

noun

• ceanothuses
  plural

1. any North American shrub or small tree of the largely western genus Ceanothus, having clusters of small white or blue flowers.

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ceanothus British  

/ ˌsiːəˈnəʊθəs /

noun

1. any shrub of the North American rhamnaceous genus Ceanothus: grown for their ornamental, often blue, flower clusters

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ceanothuses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ceanothus

< New Latin (Linnaeus) < Greek keánōthos a species of thistle

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ceanothus ceanothuses

The seedlings and saplings are mostly knee-high to chest-high and mixed with thickets of ceanothus and other post-fire brush growing amid the true giants that stand dead among them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

“Some plants, like heather, blue fescue, lavender, nandina and ceanothus, tend to not be long lived in an urban landscape,” Goetz observes.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2024

This includes Mediterranean sub-shrubs such as germander, rosemary and lavender, as well as West Coast native evergreen huckleberry, ceanothus and mock orange, all of which furnish the garden with structure, blooms and fragrance.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2023

They’ll also include wildflowers and shrubs like toyon, laurel sumac and ceanothus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2023

She planned to plant a clump of ceanothus along the approach to the swimming pool.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

After a rough few years, Covarrubias is still pulling out blades of Bermuda grass among the ceanothuses and sages, but she doesn’t mind.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2022