: The Presidio Manzanita ( A. montana ssp. ravenii ) was famously reduced to a single wild specimen in San Francisco before being successfully cloned.
Arctostaphylos , commonly known as , is a genus of roughly 60 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the heath family ( Ericaceae ). Native primarily to western North America—from British Columbia to Mexico—these plants are iconic for their smooth, dark mahogany or purplish-red bark and small, urn-shaped flowers. The name "Manzanita" is Spanish for "little apple," referring to the small red fruits many species produce. Physical Characteristics arctostaphylos
: Some species, like the Brittleleaf Manzanita ( A. crustacea ), have a basal burl (a woody mass at the root crown) that allows them to re-sprout after their upper stems are destroyed by fire. : The Presidio Manzanita ( A
: The leaves are typically leathery and evergreen. In many species, leaves tilt on their edges during summer heat to reduce water loss. Arctostaphylos , commonly known as , is a
: These are killed by fire, but their seeds require heat or chemical cues from fire to germinate.
Many species have very narrow distributions, making them vulnerable to habitat loss.