| Greenleaf manzanita | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Arctostaphylos |
| Species: | A. patula |
| Binomial name | |
| Arctostaphylos patula | |
| Subspecies [2] | |
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| Synonyms [2] | |
List
| |
Arctostaphylos patula is a species of manzanita known by the common name greenleaf manzanita. This manzanita is native to western North America where it grows at moderate to high elevations.
This shrub reaches between 1 and 2 metres (3+1⁄2 and 6+1⁄2 feet) in height. It is low to the ground with some of the lower branches rooting in the soil and others extending more outward than upward. The stems are twisting and reddish-brown in color, and shiny due to glandular secretion. The petioles may sometimes have clear-to-glandular hairs. The leaves are oval-shaped to nearly round, and flat, shiny, and smooth. They are 6 centimetres (2+1⁄2 inches) long and up to 4 cm wide.
The plentiful flowers are white to pink and urn-shaped, each with five small lobes at the mouth of the corolla, hanging in bunches. The fruits are dark brown drupes nearly a centimeter wide, each containing about five hard-coated seeds that can be fused. Seeds are primarily dispersed by seed-caching mammals, [3] and sometimes the fruits are consumed and dispersed by birds and medium-to-large mammals such as bears, coyotes, coatis, and foxes. [4] Seeds require fire [4] followed by cold conditions to germinate; seeds can remain dormant in soil for hundreds of years.
Greenleaf manzanitas in some areas, but not all, produce lignotubers, from which they can reproduce vegetatively.
The distribution of A. patula is one of the most widespread of the manzanitas, spanning most of western North America. Its northern edge is in Washington state, eastern edge in Colorado, western edge the North American west coast, and southernmost edge in Baja California, Mexico. It grows in coniferous forests from from elevations of about 460 to 3,660 m (1,500 to 12,000 ft).
In addition to providing fruit for certain mammals, [3] [4] the species is an important browse plant for deer. [4]
Some Plateau Indian tribes drank a tea of greenleaf manzanita as a cathartic. [5]
Arctostaphylos is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas 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 tall. Most are evergreen, with small oval leaves 1–7 cm 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.
One of many species of manzanita, Arctostaphylos manzanita has the common names common manzanita and whiteleaf manzanita.
Arctostaphylos viscida, with the common names whiteleaf manzanita and sticky manzanita, is a species of manzanita.
Arctostaphylos tomentosa is a species of manzanita known by the common name woollyleaf manzanita or woolley manzanita. This shrub is endemic to California.
Arctostaphylos confertiflora is a rare species of manzanita known by the common name Santa Rosa Island manzanita. This shrub is endemic to California, where it grows on the sandstone bluffs of Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands. This manzanita is listed as an endangered species by the United States Government.
Arctostaphylos columbiana is a species of manzanita known by the common name hairy manzanita. It is native to the coast of western North America from northern California to southwestern British Columbia. This large manzanita is a shrub or small tree, usually 1–5 meters tall. It is erect with hairy branches. The leaves are oval-shaped and are usually 2-6 centimeters long and 2-3 wide, pale bluish green, fuzzy on both surfaces, occasionally glandular. The small, white, urn-shaped flowers are borne in bunched inflorescences. The fruit is a red drupe about a centimeter in diameter. The seed requires either fire or consumption by animals in order for germination to occur. This manzanita grows in open, rocky areas. It is sometimes grown as a garden ornamental. Hybrids with Arctostaphylos uva-ursi commonly occur where the two parent species grow in proximity.
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 nummularia is a species of manzanita known by the common names glossyleaf manzanita, dwarf manzanita and Fort Bragg manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the forests of the coastal and inland ranges north of the San Francisco Bay.
Antennaria racemosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name racemose pussytoes. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta south as far as northern California and Wyoming. It grows in mountain forests, generally in moist, partially shaded areas, and often colonizes bare patches of mineral-rich soil, including disturbed areas.
Arctostaphylos bakeri is a species of manzanita known by the common name Baker's manzanita. It is endemic to Sonoma County, California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodlands of the North Coast Ranges. It is sometimes a member of the serpentine soils flora.
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 nevadensis, with the common name pinemat manzanita, is a species of manzanita native to western North America.
Arctostaphylos pungens, with the common name pointleaf manzanita, is a species of manzanita. It is native to the Southwestern United States and to northern and central Mexico, where it grows in chaparral and woodland habitats, and on desert ridges. Arctostaphylos pungens can be seen growing at Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico at an elevation of about 6000 feet.
Arctostaphylos regismontana is a species of manzanita known by the common name Kings Mountain manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the northern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains in the southern San Francisco Bay Area.
Arctostaphylos rudis, with the common names Shagbark manzanita and Sand mesa manzanita, is a species of manzanita.
Arctostaphylos virgata is a species of manzanita known by the common names Bolinas manzanita and Marin manzanita.
Arctostaphylos rubra is a species of flowering plant in the heath family and the genus Arctostaphylos, the manzanitas and bearberries. Common names include red fruit bearberry, alpine bearberry, arctic bearberry, red manzanita, and ravenberry. It is native to Eurasia and northern North America from Alaska through most of Canada to Greenland. There is also one population in the contiguous United States, located in the Absaroka Mountains of Wyoming.
Arctostaphylos hooveri, the Santa Lucia manzanita, is a plant species endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County, California. It grows in woodlands and in chaparral scrub-land at elevations of 900–1200 m.
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.
