Arctostaphylos

See also: Manzanita

Arctostaphylos
Whiteleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Subfamily:	Arbutoideae
Genus:	Arctostaphylos Adanson
Type species
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Linnaeus) Sprengel
Species
About 60, see text.

Arctostaphylos (/ˌɑːrktoʊˈstæfɪləs, -lɒs/;^[1][2] from ἄρκτος árktos "bear" and σταφυλή staphulḗ "bunch of grapes") is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas (/ˌmænzəˈniːtəz/^[3][4]) and bearberries. There are about 60 species of Arctostaphylos, ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain shrub to small trees up to 6 m (20 ft) tall. Most are evergreen (one species deciduous), with small oval leaves 1–7 cm (0.4–3 in) long, arranged spirally on the stems. The flowers are bell-shaped, white or pale pink, and borne in small clusters of 2–20 together; flowering is in the spring. The fruit are small berries, ripening in the summer or autumn. The berries of some species are edible.

Arctostaphylos species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora arctostaphyli (which feeds exclusively on A. uva-ursi) and Coleophora glaucella.

Distribution

Pinemat manzanita (A. nevadensis) occurs from Washington to California.

Common bearberry with flowers (A. uva-ursi)

Manzanitas, the bulk of Arctostaphylos species, are present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia in Canada, Washington to California and New Mexico in the United States, and throughout much of northern and central Mexico.

One species, however, A. uva-ursi (common bearberry), is adapted to arctic and subarctic climates and has a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe.

An unusual association of manzanita occurs on Hood Mountain, in Sonoma County, California, where stands of pygmy forest dominated by Mendocino cypress are found.

Fossil record

One fossil fruit of †Arctostaphylos globula and several fossil fruits of †Arctostaphylos menzelii have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.^[5]

Cultivation

Cultivation is generally difficult due to fungal diseases, and often salinity and alkalinity. Overhead watering should be avoided in hot weather. Some cultivars are easier to grow.

Taxonomy

The following species are recognised in the genus Arctostaphylos:^[6]

• Arctostaphylos acutifolia Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos andersonii A.Gray
• Arctostaphylos auriculata Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos australis Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos bakeri Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos bolensis P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos canescens Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos catalinae P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos caucasica Lipsch.
• Arctostaphylos columbiana Piper
• Arctostaphylos confertiflora Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos cratericola (Donn.Sm.) Donn.Sm.
• Arctostaphylos crustacea Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos cruzensis Roof
• Arctostaphylos densiflora M.S.Baker
• Arctostaphylos edmundsii J.T.Howell
• Arctostaphylos franciscana Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos gabilanensis V.T.Parker & M.C.Vasey
• Arctostaphylos glandulosa Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos glauca Lindl.
• Arctostaphylos glutinosa B.Schreib.
• Arctostaphylos × helleri Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos hispidula Howell
• Arctostaphylos hookeri G.Don
• Arctostaphylos hooveri P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos imbricata Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos incognita J.E.Keeley, Massihi, J.Delgad. & Hirales
• Arctostaphylos insularis Greene & Parry
• Arctostaphylos × jepsonii Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos klamathensis S.W.Edwards, Keeler-Wolf & W.Knight
• Arctostaphylos × laxiflora A.Heller ex Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos luciana P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos malloryi (W.Knight & Gankin) P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos manzanita Parry
• Arctostaphylos × media Greene
• Arctostaphylos mewukka Merriam
• Arctostaphylos montana Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos montaraensis Roof
• Arctostaphylos montereyensis Hoover
• Arctostaphylos moranii P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos morroensis Wiesl. & B.Schreib.
• Arctostaphylos myrtifolia Parry
• Arctostaphylos nevadensis A.Gray
• Arctostaphylos nissenana Merriam
• Arctostaphylos nortensis (P.V.Wells) P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos nummularia A.Gray
• Arctostaphylos obispoensis Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos ohloneana M.C.Vasey & V.T.Parker
• Arctostaphylos osoensis P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos otayensis Wiesl. & B.Schreib.
• Arctostaphylos pacifica Roof
• Arctostaphylos pajaroensis J.E.Adams
• Arctostaphylos pallida Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos parryana Lemmon
• Arctostaphylos × parvifolia Howell
• Arctostaphylos patula Greene
• Arctostaphylos pechoensis (Abrams) Dudley ex Abrams
• Arctostaphylos peninsularis P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos pilosula Jeps. & Wiesl.
• Arctostaphylos pringlei Parry
• Arctostaphylos pumila Nutt.
• Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth
• Arctostaphylos purissima P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos rainbowensis J.E.Keeley & Massihi
• Arctostaphylos refugioensis Gankin
• Arctostaphylos regismontana Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos × repens (Howell) P.V.Wells
• Arctostaphylos rudis Jeps. & Wiesl.
• Arctostaphylos sensitiva Jeps.
• Arctostaphylos silvicola Jeps. & Wiesl.
• Arctostaphylos stanfordiana Parry
• Arctostaphylos × strigosa Howell
• Arctostaphylos tomentosa (Pursh) Lindl.
• Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.
• Arctostaphylos virgata Eastw.
• Arctostaphylos viridissima (Eastw.) McMinn
• Arctostaphylos viscida Parry
• Arctostaphylos wellsii W.Knight

Ranges

• Subgenus Micrococcus
  • Sect. Micrococcus

Species	Common name	Range
mendocinoensis	Pygmy manzanita
myrtifolia	Ione manzanita	California (Amador, Calaveras Counties)
nissenana	Nissenan manzanita	California (coastal and inland ranges north of San Francisco Bay)
nummularia	Glossyleaf manzanita	California (Mendocino County)

• Subgenus Arctostaphylos, which has three sections:
  • Sect. Arctostaphylos

Species	Common name	Range
alpina	Alpine bearberry
bakeri	Baker's manzanita	California (Sonoma County)
densiflora	Sonoma manzanita	California (Sonoma County)
edmundsii	Little Sur manzanita	California (Monterey County)
franciscana	Franciscan manzanita	California (San Francisco County)
gabrielensis	San Gabriel manzanita	California (Los Angeles County)
glauca	Bigberry manzanita	California and Baja California
hispidula	Gasquet manzanita	Coastal mountain ranges of southern Oregon and northern California
hookeri	Hooker's manzanita	California
insularis	Island manzanita	California (Santa Cruz Island)
klamathensis	Klamath manzanita	California (Klamath Mountains)
manzanita	Common manzanita, whiteleaf manzanita	California (Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills)
mewukka	Indian manzanita	California (Sierra Nevada)
nevadensis	Pinemat manzanita	California
parryana	Parry manzanita	California (southern)
patula	Greenleaf manzanita	Western North America
pumila	Sandmat manzanita	California (Monterey County)
pungens	Pointleaf manzanita	Southwestern United States and to northern and central Mexico
rudis	Shagbark manzanita	California (southern central coast)
stanfordiana	Stanford's manzanita	California (Outer North Coast Ranges north of the San Francisco Bay Area)
uva-ursi	Bearberry	Europe, Asia, North America
viscida	Sticky manzanita, whiteleaf manzanita	California and Oregon

• • Sect. Foliobracteata

Species	Common name	Range
andersonii	Santa Cruz manzanita	Santa Cruz mountains (CA)
auriculata	Mount Diablo manzanita	Mount Diablo (CA)
canescens	Hoary manzanita	Coastal ranges of SW OR and N CA
catalinae	Santa Catalina Island manzanita	Santa Catalina Island (CA)
columbiana	Hairy manzanita	West coast from N. CA to S. BC
confertiflora	Santa Rosa Island manzanita	Santa Rosa Island (CA)
cruzensis	La Cruz manzanita	Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties (CA)
glandulosa	Eastwood manzanita	Coastal slops from OR, CA, Baja California
glutinosa	Schreiber's manzanita	Santa Cruz County (CA)
hooveri	Hoover's manzanita	Santa Lucia Mountains (CA)
imbricata	San Bruno Mountain manzanita	San Bruno Mountain (CA)
luciana	Santa Lucia manzanita	southern Santa Lucia Mountains (CA)
malloryi	Mallory's manzanita	Inner North Coast Ranges west and northwest of the Sacramento Valley (CA)
montaraensis	Montara manzanita	San Bruno Mountain and Montara Mountain (CA)
montereyensis	Monterey manzanita	Monterey County (CA)
morroensis	Morro manzanita	Morro Bay (CA)
nortensis	Del Norte manzanita	Del Norte County (CA), Curry County (OR), Josephine County (OR)
obispoensis	Serpentine manzanita	Southern Santa Lucia Mountains (CA)
osoensis	Oso manzanita	Los Osos Valley (San Luis Obispo, CA)
otayensis	Otay manzanita	San Diego County (CA)
pajaroensis	Pajaro manzanita	Monterey County, Santa Cruz County, San Benito County (CA)
pallida	Pallid manzanita
pechoensis	Pecho manzanita
pilosula	La Panzo manzanita
purissima	La Purissima manzanita
refugioensis	Refugio manzanita
regismontana	Kings Mountain manzanita
silvicola	Bonny Doon manzanita
tomentosa	Woolyleaf manzanita
virgata	Bolinas manzanita
viridissima	Whitehair manzanita
wellsii	Wells' manzanita

• • Sect. Pictobracteata

Species	Common name	Range
pringlei	Pringle manzanita

• Unassigned

Species	Common name	Range
rainbowensis	Rainbow manzanita
gabilanensis	Gabilan manzanita
ohloneana	Ohlone manzanita

See also the closely related genus Comarostaphylis, previously often included in Arctostaphylos.

References

1. "Arctostaphylos". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
2. Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
3. "manzanita". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
4. "manzanita". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
5. Friis, Else Marie (1985). "Angiosperm fruits and seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark)" (PDF). Det Kongelige Danske Videnskaberne Selskab, Biologiske Skrifter. 24 (3): 1–165.
6. "Arctostaphylos Adans. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-04-29.

Further reading

• Hickman, James C. (1993), The Jepson Manual: higher plants of California, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-082559
• Hogan, C. Michael (2012), "Arctostaphylos", in McGinley, M.; C. J. Cleveland (eds.), Encyclopedia of Earth, National Council for Science and the Environment
• Kauffmann, Michael; Parker, Tom; Vasey, Michael; Bisbee, Jeff (2021-07-29), Field Guide to Manzanitas: California, North America, and Mexico (2nd ed.), Backcountry Press, ISBN 978-1941624159
• Treatment from the Jepson Manual
• Wells, Philip V. (2000), Manzanitas of California, Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, ISBN 0-933994-22-2
• Wells, Philip V. (1992). "Subgenera and sections of Arctostaphylos". The Four Seasons. 9: 64–69.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment