Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) Notes

Arctostaphylos manzanita in the Junipero Serra greenbelt (now removed, but others nearby remain). Sairus Patel, 8 Jul 2023

Manzanitas are attractive evergreen shrubs and small trees, admired for their smooth, twisting branches clad in peeling mahogany-red bark. In late winter to early spring, they bear delicate, urn-shaped flowers – pale pink to white and honey-scented – that resemble those of their Arbutus relatives. These blossoms, developing from buds that remained nascent since the previous spring, mature into small, apple-like fruits, a trait reflected in the name manzanita, Spanish for “little apple.” Flowering halts the growth of the branchlet, but lateral shoots emerge beneath, giving the plant its characteristic crooked form. Virtually all of the 107 or so recognized species and subspecies in the genus are native to the California Floristic Province, making manzanitas a quintessential part of the region’s natural heritage.

A substantially sized A. manzanita can be seen in the Junipero Serra Boulevard greenbelt behind 1060 Vernier Place. Another beside it, and two more some distance northwest, stood above long-buried pipelines feeding the Crystal Springs Reservoir and were removed in 2025. (Had they been classified as shrubs rather than trees, might they have been spared?) Especially fine specimens flank the entryway at 591 Salvatierra Street; two others are next door, at 593. At the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), a tall row is in the raised bed along the walkway on the left and two gnarled, sculptural individuals of cultivar ‘Dr. Hurd’ – notable for its large, light green leaves – intertwine on the east patio. Other examples of ‘Dr. Hurd’ edge the Hoover Pavilion parking garage (some have recently been replaced by A. bakeri ‘Louis Edmunds’).

A. glauca, big-berry manzanita, is the other large species that has been seen in cultivation locally. Its foliage is distinctly grayish, and its berries indeed the largest of the manzanitas. It may be thought of as the southern (and Baja) California counterpart to the more northerly A. manzanita, with floral bracts scoop-shaped rather than scale-like, and branchlets smooth instead of dusted with fine hairs. A 2006 planting at the California Garden on the east side of Keck Science Building has since been removed. Perhaps with its formal designation in 2025 as California’s official state shrub, it will find its way back into plantings.

By far the most numerous shrubby manzanita on campus, and in horticulture more broadly, is ‘Howard McMinn’, a hybrid cultivar of A. densiflora and other species. Leaves are upright – they almost disappear when viewed from above! – and are a distinctive medium green bordering on olive, set on plum twigs; flowers are white. It forms tidy mounds about 5 feet tall and quite a bit wider, for example along Jane Stanford Way at Landau Economics, but also takes well to shearing. With age, it can reach up to 8 feet tall and shows its sinuous limbs; examples of such are around Lathrop Park. ‘Sunset’ is another hybrid (A. hookeri with A. pajaroensis) of about the same size, but with coppery-red new growth and pinkish flowers. It is planted around the roadside perimeter of the Hoover Pavilion surface parking lot.

At Jasper Ridge, A. crustacea subsp. crustacea (formerly known as A. tomentosa subsp. crustacea), or brittle-leaved manzanita, is a common chaparral species and often grows taller than 10 feet, developing formidable burls at the base that ensure resprouting after fires; burls are sometimes found further up the stem. A substantial grove is near the southeast edge of Jasper Ridge, near Goya Road, Portola Valley (map pin). (Some shrubs with unusually hairy leaf undersides may be subspecies crinita.) See herbarium labels from early collections for documentation. In the late 1880s, gardener Thomas Douglas propagated this species from seed he collected locally for planting in the Arboretum, but no survivors are known. He noted in his diary that boiling the seeds markedly helped with germination. A solitary A. manzanita, likely a garden escape, is near the A. crustacea grove at Jasper Ridge (iNaturalist observation). There is also a 1910 collection record of Uva-ursi tomentosa (now A. canescens subsp. canescens) in the Jasper Ridge herbarium, though none have been reported since.

A. regismontana, a large species with boat-shaped leaves whose bases clasp the stem, as its name suggests, is native nearby on Kings Mountain, northwest of Jasper Ridge, though it is not known from plantings.

The berries of manzanitas, often reddish when ripe, are edible, traditionally gathered by Native Americans, and are a favored food for bears. Arctostaphylos (Greek) and uva-ursi (Latin) both mean bear-grapes. (The Greek arctos means bear, and also the northern constellation of the Great Bear, Ursa Major – hence the connection of “arctic” with north.) Bearberry is a common name for manzanitas, and for A. uva-ursi in particular – the same phrase in three languages for genus, species and common name!

A. silvicola, Bonny Doon manzanita, with its pale gray-green, woolly foliage, is planted along the Quarry Road side of the front bicycle parking area at the Center for Academic Medicine. Opposite it, on the building side, grows the cultivar ‘Sunset’, offering a striking color contrast. Just a few steps north along the sidewalk, see a swath of ground cover A. hookeri ‘Ken Taylor’.

A. ‘John Dourley’ has become popular in recent years, a low shrub or ground cover with grayish-green leaves and cheerful coppery pink new growth that creates a pleasing, multi-toned effect. It can be seen along the east side of McDonald Hall.

Ground covers A. ‘Emerald Carpet’ and A. uva-ursi ‘Point Reyes’ are planted in the Inner Quad’s circles.

A. ‘Pacific Mist’ is about 2 feet tall; see it in the bioswale on the north side of the Anderson Collection, and along both sides of – and behind – Bing Concert Hall. It was formerly planted along Palm Drive until its replacement by Cotoneaster dammeri ‘Lowfast’ in 2006.

A. stanfordiana – yes, Stanford’s own manzanita – is native to mountain slopes north of the Bay Area and richly deserves a place on campus. Botanist C.C. Parry, when publishing its description, wrote:

Desirous of recognizing in some suitable way the facilities for botanical exploration extended to myself and others in California by Hon. Leland Stanford, I have, with his permission, dedicated this interesting species, which I hope to be able to introduce into cultivation, viz. : Arctostaphylos Stanfordiana, to the memory of his son, Leland Stanford, Jr., whose name is to be associated with a richly endowed institution for the advancement of human knowledge.

Planted around 1968 near the community building of Manzanita Park – a trailer park established to temporarily ease a student housing shortage – A. stanfordiana was noted to reach six feet in height there. The site is now occupied by Casper Quad, Schwab Residential Center, and Manzanita Field.

Name derivation: see text above.