Deer brush
Cream plumes over the whole hillside in April, and seed that can wait decades in the ground for the next fire.
In brief
Ceanothus integerrimus, Rhamnaceae.
- Deciduous shrub, 1 to 4 m
- Native to California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and New Mexico
- Flowers April to June
- Fruit a three-lobed capsule
Where it grows
Open forest and chaparral through the Sierra Nevada foothills. It fixes its own nitrogen, which is how it gets away with growing on burnt ground where nothing has fed the soil for years.
When it blooms
April to June, in loose plumes of white to pale blue.
Seed and fruit
A three-lobed capsule that dries and throws its seed. The seed can lie in the soil for decades and germinates after fire, which is why a burn comes back covered in it.
Here
Photographed in full flower at sunset on April 29, 2025, and again on May 8, 2023 behind a young canyon live oak. The name is literal: deer browse it hard, and so do the cattle on neighboring land.
By Yggdrasil Springs
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