Arctostaphylos

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Arctostaphylos
Whiteleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Arbutoideae
Genus: Arctostaphylos
Adanson
Type species
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Species

About 60, see text.

Arctostaphylos (

flowers are bell-shaped, white or pale pink, and borne in small clusters of 2–20 together; flowering is in the spring. The fruit
are small berries, ripening in the summer or autumn. The berries of some species are edible.

Arctostaphylos species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora arctostaphyli (which feeds exclusively on A. uva-ursi) and Coleophora glaucella.

Distribution

Pinemat manzanita (A. nevadensis) occurs from Washington to California.
Common bearberry with flowers (A. uva-ursi).

Manzanitas, the bulk of Arctostaphylos species, are present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia in Canada, Washington to California and New Mexico in the United States, and throughout much of northern and central Mexico.

Three species, the

A. alpina (alpine bearberry), A. rubra (red bearberry) and A. uva-ursi (common bearberry), have adapted to arctic and subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe
.

An unusual association of manzanita occurs on

Mendocino cypress
are found.

Fossil record

One

strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.[5]

Cultivation

Cultivation is generally difficult due to fungal diseases, and often salinity and alkalinity. Overhead watering should be avoided in hot weather. Some cultivars are easier to grow.

Taxonomy

The following species are recognised in the genus Arctostaphylos:[6]

See also the closely related genus Comarostaphylis, previously often included in Arctostaphylos.

References

  1. ^ "Arctostaphylos". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  2. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  3. ^ "manzanita". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  4. ^ "manzanita". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  5. ^ Friis, Else Marie (1985). "Angiosperm fruits and seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark)" (PDF). Det Kongelige Danske Videnskaberne Selskab, Biologiske Skrifter. 24 (3): 1–165.
  6. ^ "Arctostaphylos Adans. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-04-29.

Further reading

External links