Ceanothus americanus

Description

Ceanothus americanus, or New Jersey Tea, is a 2-3 foot, hardy, perennial, woody shrub for well-drained dry to medium soils in part to full sun. New Jersey Tea produces bright white flowers growing in July through August. Younger plants get off to a slow start, requiring significant energy to produce depp roots. However, once established, the shrub’s deep red tap roots make it very drought tolerant. The dried leaves of the nitrogen-fixing shrub make for an excellent tea that was quite popular during the Revolutionary War era after the expensive Indian Tea was dumped overboard during the Boston Tea Party. New Jersey Tea is a larval host for the Spring Azure, Summer Azure, and Mottled Duskywing caterpillars. The shrub also attracts birds and numerous pollinating insects, which are fed upon by hummingbirds.

Ceanothus americanus is also commonly known as Redroot.