Arctostaphylos myrtifolia

Ione manzanita, Ione Manzanita, Ione manzanita, Ione manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2 · Threatened

Ione manzanita is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in northern Sierra Nevada foothills in Amador and Calaveras counties, growing in chaparral and woodland habitats at elevations of 70 to 770 meters. Flowering from January to February, this plant produces pink to white flowers in small, pendulous racemes. Growing as a mounded to erect shrub 0.5 to 1.5 meters tall with distinctive red stems marked by gray or glaucous patches, it features smooth older stems and glandular-hairy twigs. Its bright green, shiny leaves are narrowly elliptic, 0.6 to 1.5 centimeters long, with wedge-shaped bases and entire margins. The fruit is a small, spherical drupe approximately 3 to 4 millimeters wide, with stones that may be variably fused or free.

Habitat: Acidic sandy or clay soils, chaparral, woodland

Bloom period: Jan-Feb

Elevation: 70-770 m

Bioregions: n SNF (Amador, Calaveras cos.).

California counties: Amador, Calaveras, San Luis Obispo, Alameda

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