Fresno mat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fresno mat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rhamnaceae
Genus:	Ceanothus
Species:	C. fresnensis
Binomial name
Ceanothus fresnensis Dudley ex Abrams
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The Ceanothus fresnensis is a type of shrub often called the Fresno mat. It belongs to a plant family known as Rhamnaceae. This special plant is only found naturally in California.

It grows in the central parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains and their lower foothills. You can find it in dry woodlands and coniferous forests, which are forests with cone-bearing trees like pines.

What Does the Fresno Mat Look Like?

This shrub grows flat and spreads out, forming wide mats. These mats can be as wide as 6 meters (about 20 feet)! Its stems are a reddish-brown color. They can even send roots down into the ground from different spots along the stem.

The leaves of the Fresno mat stay green all year. They grow in pairs on opposite sides of the stem. Each leaf is usually smaller than 2 centimeters (less than an inch) long. They are shaped like an oval and usually have smooth edges. Sometimes, they might have a few small teeth or notches at their tips.

The plant produces small groups of flowers. These flowers can be a pale blue or a bright blue color. After the flowers, a small, horned fruit grows. This fruit is a capsule, which is a dry case that holds seeds. It's about half a centimeter long.