High mortality of both seedlings and sprouts is likely when fires recur on burns seeded to annual grasses. Although considerable plant mortality may occur following a fire, at least some percentage of the chamise population survives and sprouts. Residual plants typically sprout within 6 weeks of fire, regardless of season. Bigpod is a large shrub, 3-12 feet tall. Please see Ceanothus americana for more information on the fire subsceptibility of this Genus.
Branches are greenish-yellow, and typically spiney.
Flowers are pale blue to almost white, in loose clusters 1-6 inches long. Please see Ceanothus americana for more information regarding the fire subsceptibility of this Genus. It grows from 2 to 5 feet in height. It establishes by seed and by sprouting in postfire communities. Total area burned after fire strongly correlates with precipitation during the previous winter, with heaviest burning occuring after wet years.