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Brittle Leaf Manzanita
Arctostaphylos crustacea ssp. crustacea
  
About Brittle Leaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos crustacea ssp. crustacea) 6 Nurseries Carry This Plant Brittle Leaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos crustacea ssp. crustacea) is a native shrub in the Ericaceae (Heath) family. It is one of six recognized subspecies of Arctostaphylos crustacea. This subspecies is endemic to California where it is a resident of chaparral canyons, foothills and lower elevation mountains fairly close to the coast in central California, primarily between the San Francisco Bay area and Santa Barbara County, including some of the Channel Islands. This is a low-lying, spreading Manzanita, generally quite a bit wider than it is tall. The stems may be red or gray or both, with smooth, rough, or shreddy bark, hairless to quite bristly. The leaves may be oval to lance-shaped and sometimes toothed, but the upper surface is generally darker and shinier than the lower. The flowers are white to pink and may be hairy or hairless inside. The fruits are fuzzy reddish drupes under a centimeter in diameter.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
5 ft tall
8 ft wide

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Flower Color
Flower Color
Pink, White, Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Insects and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. Other birds are attracted to the fruits

 

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low, Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 20° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
In the wild it is most often seen growing in sand over hardpan. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Bee Gardens

Maintenance
Maintenance
Prune to remove dead wood and to shape in late summer

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
3, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky or sandy soils, slopes

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 11.9" - 87.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.46", Coldest Month: 41.9" - 53.9", Hottest Month: 60.8" - 74.3", Humidity: 0.31" - 22.90", Elevation: 20" - 4312"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Arctostaphylos tomentosa ssp. crustacea
Common Names: Brittle-leaf Manzanita, Brittleleaf Manzanita


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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