Arctostaphylos

Botanical description

The genus Arctostaphylos, the manzanitas and bearberries, are shrubs or small trees characterised by smooth, orange or red bark and stiff, twisting branches. There are about 60 species of manzanita, ranging from ground-hugging coastal and mountain species to small trees up to 6 m tall. Most are evergreen (one species deciduous), with small oval leaves 1–7 cm long, arranged spirally on the stems. The flowers are bell-shaped, whiteor 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.

The name means "bear grapes", derived from Greek arkto (bear) and staphyle (grape).

Taxonomy

According to Philip V. Wells in The Jepson Manual and other sources, there are two subgenera of Arctostaphylos:

• Subgenus Micrococcus
  • Sect. Micrococcus
    • Arctostaphylos mendocinoensis
    • Arctostaphylos myrtifolia
    • Arctostaphylos nissenana
    • Arctostaphylos nummularia
• Subgenus Arctostaphylos, which has 3 sections:
  • Sect. Arctostaphylos
    • Arctostaphylos alpina
    • Arctostaphylos bakeri
    • Arctostaphylos densiflora
    • Arctostaphylos edmundsii
    • Arctostaphylos gabrielensis
    • Arctostaphylos glauca
    • Arctostaphylos hispidula
    • Arctostaphylos hookeri
    • Arctostaphylos insularis
    • Arctostaphylos klamathensis
    • Arctostaphylos manzanita
    • Arctostaphylos mewukka
    • Arctostaphylos nevadensis
    • Arctostaphylos parryana
    • Arctostaphylos patula
    • Arctostaphylos pumila
    • Arctostaphylos pungens
    • Arctostaphylos rudis
    • Arctostaphylos stanfordiana
    • Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
    • Arctostaphylos viscida
  • Sect. Foliobracteata
    • Arctostaphylos andersonii
    • Arctostaphylos auriculata
    • Arctostaphylos canescens
    • Arctostaphylos catalinae
    • Arctostaphylos columbiana
    • Arctostaphylos confertiflora
    • Arctostaphylos cruzensis
    • Arctostaphylos glandulosa
    • Arctostaphylos glutinosa
    • Arctostaphylos hooveri
    • Arctostaphylos imbricata
    • Arctostaphylos luciana
    • Arctostaphylos malloryi
    • Arctostaphylos montaraensis
    • Arctostaphylos montereyensis
    • Arctostaphylos morroensis
    • Arctostaphylos nortensis
    • Arctostaphylos obispoensis
    • Arctostaphylos osoensis
    • Arctostaphylos otayensis
    • Arctostaphylos pajaroensis
    • Arctostaphylos pallida
    • Arctostaphylos pechoensis
    • Arctostaphylos pilosula
    • Arctostaphylos purissima
    • Arctostaphylos refugioensis
    • Arctostaphylos regismontana
    • Arctostaphylos silvicola
    • Arctostaphylos tomentosa
    • Arctostaphylos virgata
    • Arctostaphylos viridissuma
    • Arctostaphylos wellsii
  • Sect. Pictobracteata
    • Arctostaphylos pringlei

See also Bearberry, for some species in the genus Arctostaphylos.

Synonyms

• Arctostaphylos bicolor is generally considered Xylococcus bicolor
• Arctostaphylos crustacea is generally considered Arctostaphylos tomentosa ssp. crustacea

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

Distribution

Manzanitas 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.

Three species, the bearberries, A. alpina (Alpine Bearberry), A. rubra (Red Bearberry) and A. uva-ursi (Common Bearberry), have adapted to arctic and subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe.

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 cultivate.

References

• ITIS 23467
• Hickman, James C. (1993). The Jepson Manual: higher plants of California, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. ISBN 0–520–08255–9.
• Treatment from the Jepson Manual
• Wells, Philip V. (2000). Manzanitas of California, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Lawrence, Kansas. ISBN 0933994222.
• Wells, Philip V. 1992. Subgenera and sections of Arctostaphylos. The Four Seasons 9: 64–69.