Arctostaphylos
Arctostaphylos is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas and bearberries. There are about 90 species of Arctostaphylos, ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain shrub to small trees up to tall. Most are evergreen, with small oval leaves 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 and Coleophora glaucella.
Distribution
s, 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, 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 Hesperocyparis sargentii 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.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:- Arctostaphylos acutifolia
- Arctostaphylos andersonii
- Arctostaphylos auriculata
- Arctostaphylos australis
- Arctostaphylos bakeri
- Arctostaphylos bolensis
- Arctostaphylos canescens
- Arctostaphylos catalinae
- Arctostaphylos caucasica
- Arctostaphylos columbiana
- Arctostaphylos confertiflora
- Arctostaphylos cratericola
- Arctostaphylos crustacea
- Arctostaphylos cruzensis
- Arctostaphylos densiflora
- Arctostaphylos edmundsii
- Arctostaphylos franciscana
- Arctostaphylos gabilanensis
- Arctostaphylos glandulosa
- Arctostaphylos glauca
- Arctostaphylos glutinosa
- Arctostaphylos × helleri
- Arctostaphylos hispidula
- Arctostaphylos hookeri
- Arctostaphylos hooveri
- Arctostaphylos imbricata
- Arctostaphylos incognita
- Arctostaphylos insularis
- Arctostaphylos × jepsonii
- Arctostaphylos klamathensis
- Arctostaphylos × laxiflora
- Arctostaphylos luciana
- Arctostaphylos malloryi
- Arctostaphylos manzanita
- Arctostaphylos × media
- Arctostaphylos mewukka
- Arctostaphylos montana
- Arctostaphylos montaraensis
- Arctostaphylos montereyensis
- Arctostaphylos moranii
- Arctostaphylos morroensis
- Arctostaphylos myrtifolia
- Arctostaphylos nevadensis
- Arctostaphylos nipumu
- Arctostaphylos nissenana
- Arctostaphylos nortensis
- Arctostaphylos nummularia
- Arctostaphylos obispoensis
- Arctostaphylos ohloneana
- Arctostaphylos osoensis
- Arctostaphylos otayensis
- Arctostaphylos pacifica
- Arctostaphylos pajaroensis
- Arctostaphylos pallida
- Arctostaphylos parryana
- Arctostaphylos × parvifolia
- Arctostaphylos patula
- Arctostaphylos pechoensis
- Arctostaphylos peninsularis
- Arctostaphylos pilosula
- Arctostaphylos pringlei
- Arctostaphylos pumila
- Arctostaphylos pungens
- Arctostaphylos purissima
- Arctostaphylos rainbowensis
- Arctostaphylos refugioensis
- Arctostaphylos regismontana
- Arctostaphylos × repens
- Arctostaphylos rudis
- Arctostaphylos sensitiva
- Arctostaphylos silvicola
- Arctostaphylos stanfordiana
- Arctostaphylos × strigosa
- Arctostaphylos tomentosa
- Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
- Arctostaphylos virgata
- Arctostaphylos viridissima
- Arctostaphylos viscida
- ''Arctostaphylos wellsii''
Ranges
- Subgenus Micrococcus
- * Sect. Micrococcus
| Species | Common name | Range |
| mendocinoensis | Pygmy manzanita | |
| myrtifolia | Ione manzanita | California |
| nissenana | Nissenan manzanita | California |
| nummularia | Glossyleaf manzanita | California |
- Subgenus Arctostaphylos, which has three sections:
- * Sect. Arctostaphylos
| Species | Common name | Range |
| alpina | Alpine bearberry | |
| bakeri | Baker's manzanita | California |
| densiflora | Sonoma manzanita | California |
| edmundsii | Little Sur manzanita | California |
| franciscana | Franciscan manzanita | California |
| gabrielensis | San Gabriel manzanita | California |
| 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 |
| klamathensis | Klamath manzanita | California |
| manzanita | Common manzanita, whiteleaf manzanita | California |
| mewukka | Indian manzanita | California |
| nevadensis | Pinemat manzanita | California |
| parryana | Parry manzanita | California |
| patula | Greenleaf manzanita | Western North America |
| pumila | Sandmat manzanita | California |
| pungens | Pointleaf manzanita | Southwestern United States and to northern and central Mexico |
| rudis | Shagbark manzanita | California |
| stanfordiana | Stanford's manzanita | California |
| uva-ursi | Bearberry | Europe, Asia, North America |
| viscida | Sticky manzanita, whiteleaf manzanita | California and Oregon |
- * Sect. Foliobracteata
- * 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.