The leaves are oval in shape with minute glandular teeth along the edges, and shiny green and hairless on the top surface.

[2] The seed is coated in a very hard outer layer that must be scarified, generally by wildfire, before it can germinate.

[2] Ceanothus velutinus is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in hills and mountains in several habitat types including open coniferous forest and chaparral, often in rocky soils.

[4] Some Plateau Indian tribes drank a boil of this plant to induce sweating as a treatment for colds, fevers, and influenza.

[5] Ceanothus velutinus was known as "red root" by many Native American tribes due to the color of the inner root bark, and was used as a medicine for treating lymphatic disorders, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, and tonsillitis.