Brittleleaf Manzanita
Arctostaphylos crustacea ssp. crustacea
Heath Family (Ericaceae)
Native
Key Identifying Characteristics
Evergreen shrub with dark reddish bark and a burl at the base. Leaves have stems (petioles) and are hairy but not sticky. White to pink urn-shaped flowers in winter/spring.
Similar To
Montara Manzanita (Arctostaphylos montaraensis)
Brittleleaf Manzanita has a burl and leaves with stems. Montara Manzanita has no burl, and clasping leaves (no stems).
Height / Size
Up to 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
Leaves
Alternating leaves are oval to lance-shaped and sometimes toothed. Top side of leaf is usually darker and smoother than the underside of the leaf. The underside of the leaf is usually more dull. The leaf has a stem (petiolate).
The stems and branchlets are setose – have erect hairs that are long and bristly but not sticky (non-glandular).
Flower
Flowers are urn-shaped, white to pink and may be hairy. Tiny flowers occur in big bunches that hang down. Ovary glabrous to short-hairy, generally nonglandular. Fruit are depressed-spheric in shape, sparsely non-glandular hairy (becoming glabrous in age), and the nutlets are typically free (not fused) but occasionally variously fused to separable.
Bloom Time: January to April
Fruit / Seed
Fruits look like little apples from green to bright red. Hairless surface (glabrous) to fuzzy.
Habitat
Chaparral, conifer forest
Location / Range
Brooks Creek Trail, Hazelnut Trail, Montara Mountain Trail, and Old Trout Farm Loop Trail. Endemic to California, fairly close to the coast, from SF Bay Area to Santa Barbara county, including Channel Islands.
Typical Life Span
20 to 50 years.
Fascinating / Fun Facts
Manzanita in Spanish means “little apple” which comes from the plant’s small apple-like fruits.
Read More
Nature Talks:
Sources:
Calflora
Calscape
Kauffmann, Michael, et al. Field Guide to Manzanitas : California, North America and Mexico. Kneeland, Calif., Backcountry Press, 2015.
iNaturalist
Jepson eFlora
VanderWerf, Barbara. 1994. Montara Mountain. Gum Tree Lane Books, El Granada, CA
PacificHorticulture.org
PlantID.net for San Pedro Valley CP (NRDB.org)
Spanishdict.com