Ceanothus americanus

Ceanothus americanus is a species of shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild snowball.[2][4] New Jersey tea was a name coined during the American Revolution, because its leaves were used as a substitute for imported tea.[3]

New Jersey tea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ceanothus
Species:
C. americanus
Binomial name
Ceanothus americanus
Synonyms[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Description

Ceanothus americanus is a shrub growing between 18 and 42 in (0.5 and 1 m) high, having many thin branches. Its root system is thick with fibrous root hairs close to the surface, but with stout, burlish, woody roots that reach deep into the earth—root systems may grow very large in the wild, to compensate after repeated exposures to wildfires. White flowers grow in clumpy inflorescences on lengthy, axillary peduncles. Fruits are dry, dehiscent, seed capsules.[3]

Habitat

Ceanothus americanus is common on dry plains, prairies, or similar untreed areas, on soils that are sandy or rocky. It can often be located in forest clearings or verges, on banks or lakeshores, and on gentle slopes.[3]

Distribution

Ceanothus americana is found in Canada, in Ontario and Quebec. In the U.S., it is found in Alabama; Arkansas; Connecticut; Delaware; northern and central Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Louisiana; Maine (in Oxford and Penobscot counties); Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Nebraska; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North and South Carolina; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; eastern and central Texas; Vermont; West Virginia; Wisconsin; and Virginia[4]

Ecology

During winter in the Ozarks of Missouri, its twigs are sought as food by the local deer; and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), in particular, will browse C. americanus year round.[3]

The flowers of C. americanus are used as food by (and the shoots host the larvae of) butterflies in the genus Celastrina, including spring azure, and summer azure; and by Erynnis martialis (mottled duskywing)[9] and Erynnis icelus (dreamy duskywing).

Ceanothus americanus seeds are consumed by wild turkeys and quail.[9]

Constituents and medicinal use

The red roots and root bark of New Jersey tea were commonly used by North American Indians for infections of the upper respiratory tract. These Indigenous medicinal practices continue today. The leaves have a fresh scent of wintergreen and were later utilized by the white colonizers as a tea substitute and stimulating caffeine-free beverage. The root bark of the plant is used by herbalists today, and are used notably in remedies for problems of the lymph system. The root contains astringent tannins and a number of peptide alkaloids, including ceanothine A-E, pandamine, zizyphine, scutianine, and the adouetines.[10] They have a mild hypotensive effect.[10] Root and flower extracts can also be used as dyes.[11]

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References
  1. C. americanus was first described and published in Species Plantarum 1: 195. 1753. "Plant Name Details for Ceanothus americanus". IPNI. Retrieved August 16, 2010. Distribution: Virginia, Carolina, United States of America (Northern America).
  2. "Ceanothus americanus L.". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  3. Coladonato, Milo (1993). "Ceanothus americanus". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved August 16, 2010 – via https://www.feis-crs.org/feis/.
  4. "Ceanothus americanus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  5. C. americanus var. intermedius was published in A Flora of North America, 1(2): 264. 1838.
    "Ceanothus americanus var. intermedius (Pursh) Torr. & A.Gray". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  6. C. americanus var. pitcheri was published in A Flora of North America, 1(2): 264. 1838.
    "Ceanothus americanus var. pitcheri Torr. & A.Gray". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  7. C. intermedius was published in Flora Americae Septentrionalis. ... 1: 167. 1814.
    "Ceanothus intermedius Pursh". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  8.  C. ovatus was published in Histoire des Arbres et Arbrisseaux qui peuvent etre cultives en pleine terre sur le sol de la France, 2: 381. 1809. Paris. Harvard University Herbaria/Arnold Arboretum (April 7, 2008). "Botanical Specimen Search Results for Ceanothus ovatus". Index of Botanical Specimens. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  9. "Ceanothus americanus". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  10. J.E. Saxton ed. "The Alkaloids". A special report. Vol I The Chemical Society Burlington House, London (1971) SBN 85186 257 8
  11. "Ceanothus americanus". Plants for a Future. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
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