Arctostaphylos canescens subsp. canescens

Hoary manzanita, Hoary Manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Hoary manzanita is a native shrub found in the Klamath Ranges, northern California Coast Ranges, and western San Francisco Bay Area, including Mount Tamalpais and Santa Cruz Mountains, in chaparral and open forest at elevations of 200 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from January to May, this plant produces pale pink to white urn-shaped flowers in clusters emerging from softly hairy branches. Growing as a dense shrub 1 to 3 meters tall with distinctively smooth, reddish bark that peels with age, it develops short, soft-textured twigs covered in fine white hairs. Its leathery, oval to lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long, dark green above and lighter underneath, with smooth margins and a slightly rolled edge. The fruit develops as a smooth, globe-shaped drupe that matures from green to brown, characteristic of the manzanita genus.

Habitat: Chaparral, open forest

Bloom period: Jan-May

Elevation: 200-2000 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR, w SnFrB (Mount Tamalpais s Santa Cruz Mtns)

California counties: Santa Clara, Napa, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Trinity, Lake, Los Angeles, Glenn, Colusa, Mendocino, Marin, Del Norte, Monterey, Humboldt, Tehama, Shasta, San Mateo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.