Varieties

New Jersey Tea comes from three wild varieties that were commonly used as drink plants:

  • Ceanothus americànus L. – “New Jersey Tea”
    • syn. Ceanothus intermedius Pursh
    • var. intermedius (Pursh) Torr. & A. Gray
    • var. pitcheri Torr. & A. Gray
  • Ceanothus herbaceous Raf. – “Red Root”
    • syn. Ceanothus ovatus auct. non Desf.
    • syn. Ceanothus pubescens (Torr. & A. Gray ex S. Watson) Rydb. ex Small
    • var. pubescens (Torr. & A. Gray ex S. Watson) Shinners
  • Ceanothus coeruleus Lag. – “Azure Ceanothus”

    • syn. Ceanothus azureus Ker Gawl.

These three plants were interbred over the past ~200 years to form the following hybrids:

  • Ceanothus x delilianus Spach. = C. americanus + C. coeruleus
    • syn. Ceanothus x delileanus Spach.
    • ‘Gloire de Versailles’
    • ‘Topaz’
  • Ceanothus x pallidus Lindl. = C. x delileanus + C. herbaceous
    • ‘Marie Simon’
    • ‘Marie Bleu’
    • ‘Roseus’

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