Arctostaphylos pungens

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Pointleaf manzanita
Arctostaphylos pungens 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Arctostaphylos
Species:
A. pungens
Binomial name
Arctostaphylos pungens
Synonyms

Arctostaphylos chaloneorum
Arctostaphylos pseudopungens

Contents

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.

Description

Arctostaphylos pungens is an erect, spreading, evergreen shrub growing to heights between one and three meters. It has smooth red bark. Its smaller twigs and new leaves are lightly woolly. Mature leaves are leathery, shiny and green, oval to widely lance-shaped, and up to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a spherical cluster of urn-shaped manzanita flowers. The fruit is a drupe 5 to 8 millimeters wide. [2]

It is a food source for many kinds of wildlife, and it is harvested by people and made into jam in many parts of Mexico. [2] [3]

This shrub thrives in dry, shallow, acidic soils heavy with gravel and sand, and forms relationships with mycorrhizae to obtain extra nutrients and water. [2] The seeds require scarification by wildfire before they are able to germinate.

Related Research Articles

<i>Arctostaphylos</i> Genus of flowering plants in the heath family Ericaceae

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos manzanita</i> Species of tree

One of many species of manzanita, Arctostaphylos manzanita has the common names common manzanita and whiteleaf manzanita.

<i>Arctostaphylos catalinae</i> Species of tree

Arctostaphylos catalinae, known by the common name Santa Catalina Island manzanita, is a species of manzanita native to Southern California.

<i>Arctostaphylos edmundsii</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos edmundsii, with the common name Little Sur manzanita, is a species of manzanita. This shrub is endemic to California where it grows on the coastal bluffs of Monterey County.

<i>Arctostaphylos cruzensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos cruzensis is a species of manzanita known by the common names La Cruz manzanita and Arroyo de la Cruz manzanita.

<i>Arctostaphylos hookeri</i> Species of plant

Arctostaphylos hookeri is a species of manzanita known by the common name Hooker's manzanita.

<i>Arctostaphylos columbiana</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos pallida</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos glauca</i> Species of tree

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos luciana</i> Species of tree

Arctostaphylos luciana is a species of manzanita known by the common name Santa Lucia manzanita, is endemic to California.

<i>Arctostaphylos montaraensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos montaraensis, known by the common name Montara manzanita, is a species of manzanita in the family Ericaceae.

<i>Arctostaphylos myrtifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos nevadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos nevadensis, with the common name pinemat manzanita, is a species of manzanita native to western North America.

<i>Arctostaphylos obispoensis</i> Species of tree

Arctostaphylos obispoensis is a species of manzanita, known by the common names bishop manzanita and serpentine manzanita, endemic to California.

<i>Arctostaphylos pajaroensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos pajaroensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Pajaro manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it is known mainly from Monterey County.

<i>Arctostaphylos pechoensis</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos rudis</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos rudis, with the common names Shagbark manzanita and Sand mesa manzanita, is a species of manzanita.

<i>Arctostaphylos silvicola</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Arctostaphylos virgata</i> Species of tree

Arctostaphylos virgata is a species of manzanita known by the common names Bolinas manzanita and Marin manzanita.

<i>Arctostaphylos pringlei</i> Species of flowering plant

Arctostaphylos pringlei is a plant that grows at elevations between 4000 and 7000 ft in southern California, Arizona, and southwest Utah.

References

  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI); IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group; Cornejo-Tenorio, G.; Lorea Hernández, F. & Ibarra-Manríquez, G (2019). "Arctostaphylos pungens". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 208. IUCN. e.T126504972A136785011. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T126504972A136785011.en . S2CID   242102896.
  2. 1 2 3 Forest Service Ecology
  3. Laferrière, Joseph E., Charles W. Weber and Edwin A. Kohlhepp. 1991a. Use and nutritional composition of some traditional Mountain Pima plant foods. Journal of Ethnobiology 11(1):93-114.