Arctostaphylos refugioensis

Refugio manzanita, Refugio manzanita, Refugio manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Refugio manzanita is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in the southern Santa Ynez Mountains in sandstone chaparral at elevations of 300 to 820 meters. Flowering from December to February, this plant produces pale pink to white flowers in pendulous panicle clusters with glandular-hairy bracts. Growing as an erect shrub 2 to 4 meters tall with densely hairy twigs, it develops a distinctive branching structure. Its leaves are wide-ovate, 3 to 4.5 centimeters long, glaucous and dull, with a clasping base and entire margins. The fruit is a smooth, spherical berry approximately 10 to 15 millimeters wide with markedly fused stone structures.

Habitat: Sandstone outcrops, chaparral

Bloom period: Dec-Feb

Elevation: 300-820 m

Bioregions: s SCoRO/w WTR (Santa Ynez Mtns).

California counties: Santa Barbara, Orange

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