Ceanothus herbaceus Rafinesque. Prairie Redroot, Prairie Ceanothus. Phen: Apr-May. Hab: Prairies, glades, upland woodlands, eastwards in flood-scoured rocky and/or sandy riverbanks. Dist: Primarily midwestern: MI west to MT, south to nw. IN, AR, TX, and Mexico; disjunct eastward in QC, NH, VT, NY, KY, TN, and DC.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: Rafinesque described C. herbaceus from "near the falls of the Potowmack, between the rocks". The holotype not extant, Coile (1988) chose a neotype, collected by Sheldon in 1881 from "Arlington County, Virginia, Chain Bridge, rocky river bottoms, Potomac River". However, Bartgis, Fleming, & Wiegand (1997) indicate that C. herbaceus in the Washington, D.C. area can only be ascribed with certainty to DC.

Synonymy: = Ar, C, FNA12, Il, K1, K3, K4, Mi, NE, NY, Tn, Tx, Brizicky (1964a), Coile (1988a), Fross & Wilken (2006); > Ceanothus herbaceous Raf. var. pubescens (Torr. & A.Gray) Shinners – GrPl, orthographic error; > Ceanothus ovatus Desf. – F, S, S13, misapplied; > Ceanothus pubescens (Torr. & A.Gray ex S.Watson) Rydb. ex Small – S, S13

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Heliophily: 8