# Manzanita
**Manzanita** is the common name for *Arctostaphylos* Adans., a genus of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the heath family ([Ericaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/ericaceae)), subfamily Arbutoideae, characterized by reddish, peeling bark, leathery leaves, and berry-like fruits that resemble tiny apples[1](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=929) • [2](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_arma.pdf). The name comes from Spanish *manzana*, "apple"[2](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_arma.pdf). The genus is largely Californian, and many of its species are confined to small areas within the state, which has made manzanitas a recurring subject of both taxonomic difficulty and conservation concern[3](https://tchester.org/temp/arctostaphylos/characters_in_arctostaphylos_taxonomy.pdf) • [4](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109390).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Genus | *Arctostaphylos* Adans., Ericaceae, subfamily Arbutoideae; conserved name (nom. cons.) against *Uva-ursi* Duhamel[1](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=929) |
| Name origin | Spanish *manzana*, "apple"; the fruit is a berry-like drupe 0.3–0.5 inches in diameter resembling a tiny apple[2](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_arma.pdf) |
| Type species of the common name | *Arctostaphylos manzanita* Parry, common manzanita, endemic to California from sea level to 4,900 feet (1,500 m)[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman) |
| Fire strategy | Most subspecies of common manzanita are obligate seeders killed by fire; Roof's manzanita sprouts from a burl[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman) |
| Germination cue | Heat breaks seed dormancy; peak germination at 240 to 260 °F (115–127 °C) reached 11%, against 3% in unheated controls[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman) |
| Historical fire regime | Chaparral with common manzanita historically burned in stand-replacement crown fires at intervals of 30 to 125 years[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman) |
| Conservation | Multiple manzanita species are listed as endangered, threatened, or rare in California, including Franciscan, pallid, Ione, Morro, Vine Hill, and Santa Rosa Island manzanitas[4](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109390) |
## Description and naming
Manzanitas are erect, evergreen, widely branched shrubs, sometimes single-stemmed trees. Common manzanita typically grows 6 to 12 feet (2–3.6 m) tall but can reach 26 feet (8 m); its bark is thin and smooth when young and peels in paper-thin flakes with age[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). The thick leaves range from wide- or oblong-ovate to obovate, 1 to 2 inches (2.5–5 cm) long[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). The urn-shaped, white to pinkish flowers hang in drooping panicles, and the fruit is a berry-like drupe containing 3 to 4 seeds enclosed in a very dense, impervious layer of carpellary tissues[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). Many species have a prominent burl at the base of the stem, a woody swelling that makes the plant more resistant to fire[2](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_arma.pdf).
The genus name *Arctostaphylos* is conserved against the homotypic synonym *Uva-ursi* Duhamel under the International Code of Nomenclature[1](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=929). The National Plant Germplasm System holds 80 accessions of the genus, of which 70 are active and 47 available[1](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=929).
## Taxonomy
Manzanitas have long presented a challenge for taxonomists, and the ranks and relationships of *Arctostaphylos* taxa have been variously interpreted and revised throughout the history of California botany, by authors including Jepson (1925), Abrams (1951), Munz (1959), Roof (1976–1980), and Wells (1991, 1998)[3](https://tchester.org/temp/arctostaphylos/characters_in_arctostaphylos_taxonomy.pdf). The history of Raven's manzanita illustrates the difficulty: early floras treated it variously as *A. pumila*, *A. pungens*, or *A. hookeri*, later floras as Franciscan manzanita (*A. franciscana*) or *A. hookeri* ssp. *ravenii*, and Roof (1976) considered it a distinct variety of the wide-ranging Mexican manzanita, *A. pungens* var. *ravenii*[6](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-I49-PURL-LPS66006/pdf/GOVPUB-I49-PURL-LPS66006.pdf).
Common manzanita itself (*Arctostaphylos manzanita* Parry) has 6 recognized subspecies: Konocti, whiteleaf, Contra Costa, the typical subspecies, Roof's, and Wieslander's manzanita[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). The typical subspecies hybridizes with Stanford's manzanita (*A. stanfordiana*) in the North Coast Ranges, and common manzanita hybridizes with True's manzanita, producing *A. × laxiflora* Heller[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman).
## Distribution and habitat
Common manzanita is endemic to California, occurring in the North Coast Ranges and extending eastward and southward to the [Cascade Range](https://www.edgepedia.org/cascade-range) and [Sierra Nevada](https://www.edgepedia.org/sierra-nevada) foothills; in the lower elevations of northern California it is one of the most widespread species of its genus[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). The typical subspecies is the most widespread, while the other subspecies have narrow distributions[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). Calflora likewise records the species as native to, and endemic (limited) to, California[7](https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=571).
The plant generally occupies xeric conditions on rocky slopes, canyons, and barren ridges; on a vegetation drought index from 1 (wet) to 8 (dry), Griffin ranked common manzanita as a 6[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). It occurs in chaparral, oak woodlands, and coniferous forests of northern and central California, often associated with blue oak (*Quercus douglasii*) woodlands and chaparral under mediterranean climates with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). It tolerates serpentine soils but generally occurs on nonserpentine soils[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman).
## Fire ecology
Fire is central to manzanita reproduction. Common manzanita establishes from seed, and five of its six subspecies are obligate seeders, plants killed by fire that cannot sprout; only Roof's manzanita regenerates from its prominent burl[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). Fire kills most common manzanita subspecies even at low severity, because the roots are shallow and vulnerable to heat and the thin, peeling bark offers little protection[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman).
**Seed dormancy and fire.** The dormant seeds, protected by dense, impervious carpellary tissues, persist in the soil seed bank and germinate readily after fire breaks dormancy[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). In laboratory experiments, dry heat for 5 minutes at temperatures from 100 to 300 °F (38–150 °C) produced peak germination of 11% at 240 to 260 °F (115–127 °C), against 3% in unheated controls; of 11 shrub species tested, only 3, including common manzanita, showed any life at the highest temperatures (280 and 300 °F, 138–150 °C)[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). Other treatment combinations, including winter stratification and leachate from burned litter, gave negligible germination, 1 seed out of 1,400[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman).
Seedling establishment is rare except following fire. In the Tehama Range of the Sierra Nevada foothills, manzanita seedling emergence (common and sticky whiteleaf manzanita pooled) was more than 7 times higher in burned shrub-dominated sites than in unburned herbaceous sites in the first growing season after wildfire, but more than half of the seedlings died by the following autumn and only 1 plant survived through the following winter, with mortality attributed primarily to competition for water from herbaceous vegetation and drought[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). Following a severe fire on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, common manzanita densities multiplied 918-fold, rising from 0.12 shrub/m² to 108 seedlings/m².[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman)
**Fire-return intervals.** [Chaparral](https://www.edgepedia.org/chaparral) communities with common manzanita historically experienced somewhat infrequent, stand-replacement crown fires with fire-return intervals of 30 to 125 years, likely averaging about 50 years in interior chaparral and 73 years in the Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada; woodland and forest communities with common manzanita in the understory historically experienced frequent, low-severity surface fires at intervals of 5 to 30 years[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman).
**Management implications.** Because the species regenerates only by seed (except Roof's manzanita), the interval between fires must be long enough for plants to establish and produce seed; a young stand that burns before producing much seed could be eliminated from the site[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). Seed production can begin at 4 to 5 years old, but postfire mule deer browsing can delay it substantially: on a heavily browsed site, Biswell observed no seed production for at least 12 years after fire[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). In chaparral where human ignition probability is increasing, a reduced fire-return interval threatens regeneration and persistence[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman).
## Related species and their fire strategies
The genus spans a range of fire strategies. Eastwood's manzanita (*A. glandulosa*) is also fire-dependent: its seeds are dormant at ripening with a hard seed coat and embryo dormancy, and germination requires a chemical cue from charred wood or intense heat, with most seeds remaining dormant until a fire[8](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcgla). Its seed banks are large, with reported densities of 8,422 (SE 1,575) seeds/m² in northern California and 3,038 to 4,116 seeds/m² in southern California[8](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcgla). Plants with small burls, or lacking burls (subsp. *atumescens*), may not sprout after fire[8](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcgla). Greenleaf manzanita (*A. patula*) combines both modes, establishing after fire by seed and by sprouting from the lignotuber[9](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcpat). Sticky whiteleaf manzanita (*A. viscida*) shares the pattern of soil-stored, scarified seed germinating after exposure to charate[10](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcvis).
## Conservation
Many manzanitas are rare. California's list of state and federally listed endangered, threatened, and rare plants includes Franciscan manzanita (*A. franciscana*, federally endangered), pallid manzanita (*A. pallida*, federally threatened and state endangered), Ione manzanita (*A. myrtifolia*, federally threatened), Morro manzanita (*A. morroensis*, federally threatened), Vine Hill manzanita (*A. densiflora*, state endangered), Santa Rosa Island manzanita (*A. confertiflora*, federally endangered), and Pacific manzanita (*A. pacifica*, state endangered), among others[4](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109390). The Cedars manzanita (*A. bakeri* ssp. *sublaevis*) is state rare[4](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109390). On the federal side, *A. manzanita* itself is not federally protected and is classified as native and noninvasive[5](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman). One subspecies of common manzanita, *A. manzanita* ssp. *elegans* (Konocti manzanita), appears on the California BLM Special Status Plants List with a global rank of G4G5 and a subspecific rank of T2[11](https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2026-03/BLMCASSPlist_20260305_forweb_508_0.pdf).
## Horticulture
Manzanitas are grown as ornamental native plants in California gardens. The California Native Plant Society notes horticultural selections including one with parentage from pajaro manzanita (*Arctostaphylos pajaroensis*) introduced by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and named for the native plant pioneer Lester Rowntree[12](https://www.cnps.org/gardening/the-manzanita/).
## References
1. [Genus *Arctostaphylos* Adans., GRIN-Global Taxonomy, USDA Agricultural Research Service](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=929)
2. [Whiteleaf manzanita (*Arctostaphylos manzanita*) Plant Guide, USDA NRCS](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_arma.pdf)
3. [Characters in *Arctostaphylos* taxonomy, Madroño 64(4): 138–153 (2017)](https://tchester.org/temp/arctostaphylos/characters_in_arctostaphylos_taxonomy.pdf)
4. [State and Federally Listed Endangered, Threatened, and Rare Plants of California, California Department of Fish and Wildlife](https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=109390)
5. [Abrahamson, I. 2014. *Arctostaphylos manzanita*, common manzanita. Fire Effects Information System, USDA Forest Service](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcman)
6. [Recovery Plan for San Francisco Peninsula Plants, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (govinfo)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-I49-PURL-LPS66006/pdf/GOVPUB-I49-PURL-LPS66006.pdf)
7. [*Arctostaphylos manzanita*, Calflora](https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=571)
8. [*Arctostaphylos glandulosa*, Eastwood's manzanita. Fire Effects Information System, USDA Forest Service](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcgla)
9. [*Arctostaphylos patula*, greenleaf manzanita. Fire Effects Information System, USDA Forest Service](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcpat)
10. [*Arctostaphylos viscida*, sticky whiteleaf manzanita. Fire Effects Information System, USDA Forest Service](https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/arcvis)
11. [California BLM Special Status Plants List](https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2026-03/BLMCASSPlist_20260305_forweb_508_0.pdf)
12. [The Manzanita, California Native Plant Society](https://www.cnps.org/gardening/the-manzanita/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Nonmonocot genus-plus-species treatments*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license