Ceanothus is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae).[2][3][4][5] Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus.[6][7][8] “Ceonothus” comes from a Greek word meaning “spiny plant”,[8] Ancient Greek: κεάνωθος (keanōthos), which was applied by Theophrastus (371–287 BC) to an Old World plant believed to be Cirsium arvense.[9][10]
The genus is native to North America with the highest diversity on the western coast.[4][11] Some species (e.g., C. americanus) are restricted to the eastern United States and southeast Canada, and others (e.g., C. caeruleus) extend as far south as Guatemala. Most are shrubs 0.5–3 metres (1.6–9.8 ft) tall, but C. arboreus and C. thyrsiflorus, both native to California, can be small multi-trunked trees up to 6–7 metres (20–23 ft) tall.
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