Fauna
Plant

Common Manzanita

Arctostaphylos manzanita

Also known as Whiteleaf Manzanita

Common manzanita defines California chaparral landscapes with its striking, crooked branches clad in smooth, rich mahogany-red bark. In late winter, tight clusters of white-to-pink urn-shaped flowers bloom, attracting early-season pollinators before giving way to small reddish fruits. Its tough, leathery evergreen leaves turn edge-wise to the sun to minimize moisture loss during scorching dry summers.

EvergreenChaparralFlowering
Common Manzanita reference1 / 7
(c) Stan Shebs, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
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Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preyPhotosynthetic
Predators
  • Black-tailed Deer
  • Coyotes
  • Chaparral Birds
ThreatsAltered fire regimes, land development, fungal blight
HabitatsChaparral, oak woodlands, dry foothill slopes
Life span50–100+ years
Classification
  1. OrderEricales
  2. FamilyEricaceae
  3. GenusArctostaphylos
  4. SpeciesArctostaphylos manzanita
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskLow
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is low
Wild berries have toxic look-alikes; never eat based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
  • Bark Inspection: Observe the paper-thin sheets of red bark shedding in summer to reveal fresh green tissue underneath.
  • Flower Watching: Search the urn-shaped winter blossoms for visiting native bees and hummingbirds.
Related species
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