| Arctostaphylos morroensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Arctostaphylos |
| Species: | A. morroensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Arctostaphylos morroensis | |
Arctostaphylos morroensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Morro manzanita. This shrub is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known only from the vicinity of Morro Bay.
There are 18 occurrences of the Arctostaphylos morroensis plant, and it is abundant in some local areas. [2] It is largely limited to a specific type of substrate known as "Baywood fine sands", a type of sandy soil which originated in the Pleistocene as windblown sand dunes. [3] The plant is found on less than 900 acres of coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitat, sometimes forming monotypic stands on hillsides. [3]
Two thirds of its habitat is privately owned, some of it is slated for development, and its habitat requirements are narrow; these and other problems led to the plant's being listed as a threatened species in 1994. [3] Some of the plants are protected within Montaña de Oro State Park. [3]
Arctostaphylos morroensis is a spreading shrub, reaching up to 4 meters in height but generally staying wider than tall. It has shreddy red-gray bark and whiskery bristles on the smaller branches and twigs. The leaves are oval-shaped and slightly convex, dark green on the upper surface and duller gray-green beneath. Plentiful flowers hang in dense clusters on short pedicels during the winter months. They are usually very light pink, urn-shaped, and hairy inside. The fruits are fuzzy red drupes each about a centimeter wide.
At the northern extent of its range, this species can overlap with Arctostaphylos osoensis. The two species can be separated by leaf structure: osoensis has heart-shaped leaves which seem to clasp the stem, while morroensis has more typical leaves with a small stem connecting the leaf to the main branch. A. osoensis is also largely restricted to volcanic outcroppings associated with the Nine Sisters, but on occasion morroensis can also occur on this formation, so this alone is not sufficient to distinguish the species.
The Arctostaphylos morroensis plant is cultivated as a landscaping ornamental plant, for California native plant, drought tolerant, and natural habitat gardens.
Eriodictyon altissimum is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name Indian Knob mountainbalm. It is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from only about six occurrences in the Irish Hills on the coast and nearby Indian Knob.
Arctostaphylos tomentosa is a species of manzanita known by the common name woollyleaf manzanita or woolley manzanita. This shrub is endemic to California.
Arctostaphylos cruzensis is a species of manzanita known by the common names La Cruz manzanita and Arroyo de la Cruz manzanita.
Arctostaphylos pallida, commonly known as pallid manzanita, Oakland Hills manzanita, and Alameda manzanita, is an upright manzanita shrub from the Ericaceae, or heath family. It is endemic to the eastern San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California.
Arctostaphylos glauca is a species of manzanita known by the common name bigberry manzanita. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodland of coastal and inland hills.
Arctostaphylos luciana is a species of manzanita known by the common name Santa Lucia manzanita, is endemic to California.
Arctostaphylos montaraensis, known by the common name Montara manzanita, is a species of manzanita in the family Ericaceae.
Arctostaphylos myrtifolia is a rare species of manzanita known by the common name Ione manzanita. It is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. It grows in the chaparral and woodland plant community on a distinctive acidic soil series, an oxisol of the Eocene-era Ione Formation, in western Amador and northern Calaveras counties. There are only eleven occurrences, of which three have not been recorded since 1976. This is a federally listed threatened species.
Arctostaphylos obispoensis is a species of manzanita, known by the common names bishop manzanita and serpentine manzanita, endemic to California.
Arctostaphylos osoensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Oso manzanita. It is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from only two occurrences on the northern edge of the Los Osos Valley. It grows exclusively on volcanic dacite from the Morro Rock-Islay Hill Complex associated with the Nine Sisters.
Arctostaphylos pechoensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Pecho manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the Pecho Hills southwest of San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Arctostaphylos pilosula is a species of manzanita, known by the common names La Panza manzanita and Santa Margarita manzanita, that is endemic to California.
Arctostaphylos rudis, with the common names shagbark manzanita and sand mesa manzanita, is a species of manzanita.
Arctostaphylos silvicola is a species of manzanita known by the common names Bonny Doon or silverleaf manzanita. It is endemic to the sandhills of the southern Santa Cruz Mountains in California's Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.
Arctostaphylos virgata is a species of manzanita known by the common names Bolinas manzanita and Marin manzanita.
Arctostaphylos viridissima is a species of manzanita known by the common names whitehair manzanita and McMinn's manzanita. It is endemic to Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands of California.
Arctostaphylos rainbowensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Rainbow manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from northern San Diego and southern Riverside Counties in the Peninsular Ranges.
Suaeda californica is a rare species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name California seablite. It is now endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from a few occurrences in the marshes around Morro Bay, historical populations around San Francisco Bay have been extirpated.
Arctostaphylos gabilanensis is a rare species of manzanita known by the common name Gabilan manzanita.
Arctostaphylos glandulosa subsp. crassifolia is a rare perennial shrub, a subspecies of manzanita within the heather family commonly known as the Del Mar manzanita. It is narrowly endemic to the sandstone coastal terraces of San Diego County and northwestern Baja California. It is a burl-forming evergreen shrub typically found growing in a rambling habit on poor soils and hardpan. From December to February, white to pink urn-shaped flowers decorate its foliage, giving way to small fruits. It is listed as endangered and is threatened by land development, invasive species and modifications to the natural fire regime.
Media related to Arctostaphylos morroensis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Arctostaphylos morroensis at Wikispecies  | This Ericaceae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
