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Marin County | Plant Groups

Marin Manzanitas
Manzanitas have characteristic thick oval leaves, red bark, and bunches of tiny urn-shaped flowers. However, deciding which of the 7 prominent Marin manzanitas you’re looking at can be tricky, because differences are subtle and shrubs of the same species will vary based on water, soil, and sun exposure. The table below will help you consider several characteristics, which is generally required when identifying a Manzanita. I really like the process of feeling leaf surfaces, inspecting flower bases, looking for the burl, and considering location to arrive at my best guess. The more you do it, the better you’ll get.
Name	Location	Burl/Shape/Size	Leaves	Base of flowers (bracts)
Eastwood Manzanita A.glandulosa	Common in Marin chaparral.	Burl at stem base. Bushy. Up to 8 feet tall.	Rigid and brittle feeling. Leaves can feel like sandpaper.	Small fuzzy leaves.
Hoary Manzanita A.canescens	Not very common, found on south-facing sandstone slopes.	No burl. Fewer branches than Eastwood. Up to 8 feet.	Pale from white hair. Softer to the touch than Eastwood.	Small fuzzy leaves.
Shatterberry A.sensitiva	Fairly common on rocky ridges of Mt. Tam area.	No burl. Leaf cover often like a hedge. Up to 8 feet.	Dark, shiny green leaves. Underside paler and smoother.	Red with bumps. Flower has only 4 petals.
Tamalpais Manzanita A.montana	Only on high serpentine slopes.	No burl. Mostly a low bushy shrub under 2 feet.	Smaller than Eastwood. Very short hairs. Not sandpapery.	Small brownish scales.
Marin Manzanita A.virgata	Uncommon on maritime chaparral ridges near Bishop Pine or Redwood.	No burl. Often twisted red stem. Often over 8 feet tall.	Long and thinner than other manzanitas. Shiny green, hairy. Rough, sticky.	Small sticky leaves at base of flower. Fruit is very sticky and bristly.
Bearberry A.uva-ursi	Only on exposed ocean-facing slopes at Point Reyes.	No burl. Grows low to the ground, under 1 foot tall.	Dark green, shiny, small, thick and stiff. About 1” long.	Red and pink flowers.
Common Manzanita A.manzanita	Non-serpentine hills north of Kentfield and San Rafael.	No burl. Large - often grows tree height.	Oval and thick.	Small and scale-like.
Eastwood Manzanita Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. cushingiana and ssp.glandulosa Common on dry rocky slopes and ridges. More common than all other Marin manzanitas combined. Only Marin Manzanita with a burl.	· Blooms Jan – March. · Always grows out of an exposed root ball (burl). · Leaves are rigid; brittle feeling. · Leaves of subspecies glandulosa feel like fine sandpaper when rubbed; the more common subspecies cushingiana leaves feel smooth. · Hairy stem, leaves and berries. Hairs sometimes show little drops of sap at the end. · Flower is urn shaped, and whitish pink. · Flowers grow in a drooping bunch, joined together at a common source. · Behind the flowers, tiny, hairy, pale leaves (bracts) tilt towards the flower. · Fruit is a dusky red dented sphere.	Eastwood branches always grow out of a burl. Flower stems (pedicels) come together to a common point.	Leaves are rigid and feel like sandpaper. Behind the flower, tiny leaves (bracts) tilt towards flower.	Close-up shows sap oozing from hair-end glands. Mature bush with burl and red bark.
Hoary Manzanita Arctostaphylos canescens Generally limited to south-facing sandstone slopes No burl.	· Blooms Jan – April. · No burl, so branches do not all grow out of a single point. · Leaves are hairy, but softer and less brittle than Eastwood. · Hairs, stems and leaves do not have glands, and so do not ooze sap, and often appear paler than Eastwood. · Behind the flowers are small, hairy, pale leaves (bracts) that often recurve away from the stem. · Pink flowered plants are found Marin to Santa Cruz county. White flowered plants are found to the north.	Plant looks pale, because of white (hence Hoary) hair. Area behind the flower has small, hairy, pale leaves (bracts) that may recurve.	Pale matted leaf hairs and red fruits. Since there is no burl, stems start from a variety of places.	Flowers hang down on individual stems (pedicels). Mature plant gives an impression of pale leaves with many flower clusters.
Shatterberry Manzanita Arctostaphylos sensitiva Fairly common on rocky ridges or flats. No burl.	· Blooms Jan – April. · Found on rocky sandstone soils in the Mt. Tam area, as far north as upper Fairfax. · Leaves are shiny dark green, smaller than Eastwood or Hoary. · Bottom of leaf is paler than top, and is very smooth to the touch. · Leaves cover a large portion of the surface of the plant, sometimes giving a hedge-like appearance. · Stems have quite long hairs, noticeably separate from each other. · Flower has 4 petals. All other Marin manzanitas have 5. · The stem behind each flower is typically red with tiny red bumps (bracts).	Shiny dark green leaves, underside is lighter. Leaves smaller than Eastwood. Each flower attaches individually to stem.	Stem behind developing flowers is red with bumps (bracts). Note only 4 lips (petals) at the bottom of the flower. Other manzanitas in Marin have 5.	Note distinct long hairs on red stems. Bushy look with many stems. Hedge-like appearance.
Tamalpais Manzanita Arctostaphylos montana Only on serpentine slopes. No burl.	· Blooms Feb – April. · Most often a low shrub, under 2 feet tall, although a second form can grow to 8 feet. · Leaves are smaller than Eastwood. · Leaves have very short hairs and feel smooth when rubbed between your fingers. · Flowers connect to separate spots on the stem. · Notice the brown scales (bracts) at the base of the flower stems. Other manzanitas have leaves or bumps here. · Bushy, branching structure is covered with leaves and flowers – you often have to pull them apart to see all the branches. · Fruit is red and hairless.	Leaves have short hairs, smaller than Eastwood. Surface often covered in leaves and flowers.	Flowers connect to separate points on the stem. Fruit is red and hairless.	Brown scales (bracts) at the base of each flower’s stem. Typically grows very close to the ground.
Marin Manzanita Arctostaphylos virgata Rocky, bushy slopes at the borders of Bishop Pine or Redwood. No burl.	· Blooms Jan – March. · A pretty large shrub, typically around 8 feet tall. · Leaves covered with grey hairs. · Leaves feel rough and sticky. · Fruit is a very sticky, bristly sphere. No other Marin Manzanita fruits are like this. · Flowers in dense clusters, grow close to the stem. · Longer leaves than other Marin manzanitas. · Tiny leaves (bracts) at the base of flowers. · Trunk often shows twists.	Leaves covered with grey hairs. Rough and sticky. Fruit is a sticky, bristly sphere.	Flowers grow close to the stem. Flowers in dense clusters.	Notice long leaves and tiny leaves at beginning of flower. Notice twisted dark red trunk.
Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Only on exposed ocean-facing slopes in Point Reyes. No burl.	· Blooms March – June · Grows low to the ground, generally under 1 foot tall. · Woody stems grow along the ground, not up. · Leaves dark green, shiny, small, thick and stiff. · Berries small red to pink spheres.	New stems can be red or green. Old stems are brown. Berries are small spheres.	Leaves dark green, shiny, small, thick and stiff. Stems grow along ground.	Red buds, red flower stems. Bearberry grows low to the ground on coastal bluffs.
Common Manzanita Arctostaphylos Manzanita ssp. Manzanita Only north of San Rafael. No burl.	· Blooms Jan – March. · Found on grassy or open wooded non-serpentine hills, including China Camp, Big Rock Ridge, and Olompali. · Shrubby to tree-size. · Leaves long, oval and thick. · Blooms Dec - March · Bark is red and smooth, or brown and scaly. · Large clusters of hanging white flowers. · Drops copious amounts of white flowers in March.	Long oval leaves. Drops lots of flowers in March.	Lots of white flowers. Only Marin manzanita to grow to tree size.	Spherical, smooth red berries. Here is a very large specimen.

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Reviewed by DLS 4/4/14. Last Updated 3/30/14 by BHS.

Not a manzanita:

At first glance, you might confuse a young Madrone tree with a Manzanita – they both have oval leaves and smooth stems. However, Madrone leaves come together to a common point on the stem, while Manzanita leaves each connect separately. Also, Madrone leaves are bigger, while Manzanita leaves are stiffer. Mandrone bark is brownish and Manzanita bark is darker and redder.

Huckleberries in bloom look a bit like Manzanitas with thick oval leaves and pink dangling flowers. However, Huckleberry leaves have definite serrations which Manzanitas never do, and huckleberry flowers look more like bells than urns. Finally, Huckleberry stems don’t have the signature red woody look of Manzanita stems.

Note to botanists – this page uses common vocabulary, sacrificing more specific botanic terms in the interest of general communication. We hope the loss of precision in wording is, to some extent, made up for by photographs showing key identification points.

Note to non-botanists – Here are some terms you might be interested in:

· Burl – In manzanitas, a burl is the top of the root structure, generally above ground although it can be covered on steep hills. Feel the base of the stem to see if you encounter wood, or just ground.

· Bract – Before a Manzanita flowers, it develops a distinctive pre-flower shape. In Marin, these nascent inflorescences may look like small leaves, brown scales, or red bumps. Although the flower may only bloom a few months, these pre-flower areas can be found most of the year.

· Serpentine – greenish rock that has an unusual chemistry that inhibits the growth of most plants. In Marin County, slow-growing Tamalpais Manzanita and Sargent Cypress do well on serpentine-derived soils.