PNW Native
Ranges along western US from southern British Columbia through northern California and east to Montana. (J)
The shrub grows 1 – 3 m / 3 – 10 ft tall, with red-purple bark and green shoots. Flowers are small, white-petaled, heavily-scented, and appear in large clusters at the end of lateral branches. Fruits are seeds encased in capsules that explode for dispersal. Leaves are oval, alternate, deciduous, 3 – 10 cm long, and with finely-toothed margins. (PM)
Redstem ceanothus is an important plant providing cover and food for numerous species, most crucially the Rocky Mountain elk. The plant is substantially relied on by elk for browse during winter months when food is hard to come by. An Idaho study found a third of the winter diet of Rocky Mountain elk consisted of redstem ceanothus. The shrub also provides cover and habitat for a wide array of mammals and birds. Redstem ceanothus and Pacific ninebark thickets provide cover from windy and cold weather for mule deer in NE Oregon. The shrubfields formed by ceanothus are used by many small birds including rufous-sided towhee, Nashville warbler, olive-sided flycatcher, and western bluebird, and mammals including deer mice, chipmunks, and voles. These shrubfields often form after an area has been clearcut and slash-burned for timber logging. (J)
Redstem ceanothus, like red alder, is a nitrogen fixer and pioneer of burn sites, and burns facilitate the scarification of ceanothus seeds, causing them to grow in the spring after a fire. (DM) Redstem ceanothus prefers dry and open sites, roadsides, clearings, forest margins, and disturbed sites. It also naturally contains a toxin known as saponin. (PM)
Redstem ceanothus was collected during the Lewis and Clark expedition. Indigenous Americans used redstem ceanothus to treat burns and skin ailments. (H) Redstem ceanothus was used as a cleaning agent by the Spokan, (NT) and early settlers of the region called the plant “soapbloom” due to the soapy froth excreted when pulverized. (PM)
Redstem ceanothus has widespread utility in restoration plantings due to its deep root system that aids soil stabilization, nitrogen fixation, easy nursery propagation, and successful use in plantings along logging sites, roadcuts, and old mines. (J)
[1] Johnson, Kathleen A. 2000. Ceanothus sanguineus. In: Fire Effects Information System,. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/ceasan/all.html.
[2] Heaton, D., & DerMarderosian, A. (2004). An Ethnobotanical and Medical Research Literature Update on the Plant Species Collected in the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-1806. Bartonia, 63-93.
