''Arctostaphylos catalinae'', known by the common name Santa Catalina Island manzanita, is a species of manzanita native to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. The evergreen shrub is found growing naturally only on Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands on the coast ridges. It thrives in maritime chaparral and can be used in coastal gardens.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Santa Catalina Island, one of the southern

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. They define the Santa Barbara Channel between the islands and the California mainland. The ...

. The plant grows in maritime chaparral

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, on the ridges of Catalina Island''Arctostaphylos catalinae''.
The Jepson Manual. at elevations from 1150 to 1500 ft (350 to 460 m).

Description

''Arctostaphylos catalinae'' is a

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

usually exceeding in height, sometimes taking a treelike form up to tall. It is glandular and covered in white bristles. The leaves also have fine bristles. The dull, light green blades are up to 5 centimeters long by 3 wide. The bloom period is from February to April with white, pink flowers. The flowers are borne in an open, branching

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

with leaflike

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. The fruit is a spherical

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

up to 1.5 centimeters wide.

Ecology

''Arctostaphylos catalinae'' beneficials include hummingbirds (nectar) and insects. A primary threat to ''Arctostaphylos catalinae'' included feral goats. The goats were removed in 2001 and since then the plant has been actively recovering. Unlike other manzanita species, this one lacks a basal burl. Without the ability to sprout from a basal burl after a fire, it uses seed germination for regeneration.

Cultivation and uses

The Santa Catalina Island manzanita can be used as an ornamental shrub in gardens. It requires full sun, very low water, and is adaptable to different soil conditions.

References

California Native Plant Society-CNPS Inventory Plant Detail: ''Arctostaphylos catalinae''
— ''Rare, threatened, or endangered flora in California''.

External links