Our Featured Plant

 

By Lorrae Fuentes

 

Among the native shrubs, manzanitas are one the most important in the chaparral areas of southern California. Manzanita is a member of the heath family (Ericaceae). The common name, “manzanita,” is derived from the Spanish for “little apple.” The latin name Arctostaphylos comes from two Greek words meaning “bear berry.” A manzanita is recognizable from a distance by its bright green foliage. Up close, the manzanita is distinctive because of its smooth, reddish or chocolate brown bark. In late summer, this thin bark flakes off in small strips after growing stems enlarge and split the old bark. The new bark is pale in color and darkens with exposure to the sun. 

 

Leaves of the manzanita are leathery with a waxy coating, and are often oriented vertically on the stem. The vertical orientation has leaf edges tracking the sun during the day to optimize light and heat for photosynthesis, yet reduces the overall heat load on the plant to prevent moisture loss.

 

Immature, nascent flower buds develop in the late summer and persist through winter. The bracts of the nascent inflorescence are an important identifying characteristic for some species. In late winter, the buds open to produce urn-shaped flowers hanging in nodding clusters at the end of the stem. The flowers are white, often tinged with pink. Immediately after blossoming, the plants send out new foliage in tints of bronze or crimson. The fruits are reddish drupes containing 2 to 10 seeds.

 

In spring and summer, you might notice some reddish swellings on the edges of manzanita leaves. These appear only on new leaf growth, and are caused by gall forming insects – aphids, in the case of manzanitas. The female aphids release chemical irritants as they feed on the succulent inner leaf tissue. This causes the leaf to swell and fold over them.  The damage from these galls is minimal for the individual plants and large areas of chaparral usually do not become infested.

 

The south facing slopes of the Chaparral is often dominated by various species of manzanita. Although it is often difficult to distinguish species of manzanita, their abundance and attractiveness make the effort worthwhile. One of the commonest is Eastwood Manzanita, Arctostaphyls glandulosa which can be recognized by the large woody burl on its stem just at ground level. None of our other common southern California species has such a burl or woody platform. Eastwood Manzanita sends up new shoots from the burl following a fire whereas the other manzanita species sprout from seeds. Eastwood Manzanita has smooth reddish bark and leaf-like green bracts among its flowers. The branchlets are often densely covered with sticky spreading hairs.  The plants range from 2-4 feet high. Eastwood Manzanita is common throughout our area on brushy slopes at medium and low elevations, extending east to the margin of the desert. There are six subspecies of A. glandulosa.

 

Perhaps the commonest of the remaining species, at least at low and medium elevations, is Bigberry Manzanita. A. glauca. Bigberry Manzanita can be distinguished from all others by its broad grayish-green leaves and large juicy  berries which are 1/2 inch, and have one solid indivisible stone within. It is a tall shrub or often a small tree up to 25 feet tall. Its branchlets are usually smooth.

 

The south-facing slopes in higher elevation chaparral has the Greenleaf Manzanita, A. patula, This species occurs particularly on dry slopes in the yellow Pine forest.