Arctostaphylos pajaroensis

Pajaro manzanita, Pajaro manzanita, Pajaro manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Pajaro manzanita is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native shrub found in north-central Coast ranges and southern San Francisco Bay area's Pajaro Hills in chaparral and sandstone outcrops at elevations below 755 meters. Flowering from December to February, this plant produces pale pink to white flowers in delicate pendant panicles with branches 2 to 5 centimeters long. Growing 1 to 4 meters tall with erect stems featuring distinctive gray bark that shreds and twigs covered in short non-glandular hairs, it displays a striking architectural form. Its leaves are ovate to triangular-ovate, 2 to 4 centimeters long, with a dark blue-green upper surface that appears glaucous and edges tinged subtly with red, clasping at the base and cupped in profile. The fruit is a depressed-spheric structure 6 to 8 millimeters wide, sparsely hairy and containing stones that may be variably fused or separate.

Habitat: Sandstone outcrops, chaparral

Bloom period: Dec-Feb

Elevation: < 755 m

Bioregions: n-c CCo, s SnFrB (Pajaro Hills).

California counties: Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Yolo

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