Arctostaphylos viscida subsp. mariposa

Mariposa manzanita, Mariposa Manzanita

Family: Ericaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Mariposa manzanita is a California native shrub found in the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in openings within chaparral and forest habitats at elevations of 400 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces white to pink flowers in small clusters with distinctive glandular-bristly features. Growing with densely glandular-hairy twigs to approximately one to two meters tall, it forms a characteristic manzanita branching structure. Its leaves are sparsely short-glandular-hairy with scabrous surfaces, often with ciliate margins and papillate texture. The fruit is covered in glandular bristles, adding to the plant's unique textural characteristics.

Habitat: Openings in chaparral, forest

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: 400-2200 m

Bioregions: SN.

California counties: Kern, Fresno, Calaveras, Mariposa, Tulare, Tuolumne, Madera, El Dorado, Amador, Trinity, Merced, Butte, Nevada, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Mendocino, Shasta

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