Arctostaphylos montaraensis

Montara manzanita, Montara manzanita, Montara manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Montara manzanita is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in the central California Coast and western San Francisco Bay bioregions on granite and sandstone outcrops in chaparral and coastal scrub at elevations of 200 to 500 meters. Flowering from January to March, this plant produces white to pink flowers in pendant clusters with glandular-hairy branches and lanceolate bracts. Growing from 0.5 to 5 meters tall, with mounded to erect form, it develops dense long-glandular-hairy twigs. Its bright green leaves are ovate, 2.5 to 4.5 centimeters long, with lobed bases that clasp the stem and entire margins. The fruit is a sticky, glandular-hairy drupe 6 to 7 millimeters wide with variably fused stone segments.

Habitat: Granite, sandstone outcrops, chaparral, coastal scrub

Bloom period: Jan-Mar

Elevation: 200-500 m

Bioregions: CCo (San Bruno Mtn), w SnFrB (Montara Mtn).

California counties: 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.