Arctostaphylos crustacea subsp. crinita

Crinite manzanita, Crinite Manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Crinite manzanita is a California native shrub found in the central coastal region including Fort Ord and Mount Toro, and the southwestern San Francisco Bay area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, inhabiting chaparral and conifer forest at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces small white to pink flowers in clusters with dense, stiff hairs. Growing as a shrub with distinctive hairy twigs and stems that feature both short and long stiff hairs, it forms a characteristically textured appearance. Its leaves are densely covered in non-glandular hairs on the undersides, occasionally with some hairiness on the upper surfaces, giving the foliage a soft and fuzzy texture. The ovary is also short and non-glandular hairy, contributing to the plant's overall densely pubescent appearance.

Habitat: Chaparral, conifer forest

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: CCo (Fort Ord, Mount Toro), sw SnFrB (Santa Cruz Mtns).

California counties: Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Mateo, Santa Barbara

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