Burke: Arctostaphylos nevadensis vs. Arctostaphylos patula

	Arctostaphylos nevadensis	Arctostaphylos patula
	pinemat manzanita	green-leaf manzanita
Habit	Shrubs with spreading to decumbent stems often forming large mats or mounds, the branch tips to 2 dm. tall; bark brownish-red, stems puberulent, sometimes glandular.	Erect or mound forming evergreen shrubs, 1-3 m tall; simple at base throughout most of range; reddish exfoliating bark on older branches; twigs usually densely golden-glandular, rarely white-hairy.
Leaves	Leaves oblong to spatulate, the tips acute or abruptly pointed; blades 1.5-3 cm. long, glabrous to puberulent on the margins and mid-rib, the base acute or narrowed abruptly to petioles 2-5 mm. long.	Leaves alternate, bright green and shiny, ovate to orbiculate, 2-6 cm long and 1-4 cm broad, glabrous or rarely pubescent, petioles 7-15 mm.
Flowers	: Inflorescence a terminal, few-flowered raceme, each flower subtended by a bract about equal to the pedicel; flowers pink, about 5 mm. long; corolla urn-shaped, with 5 short lobes; stamens 10, the anthers opening by false terminal pores, each with 2 curved, reflexed, horn-like appendages; ovary superior, pubescent.
Fruits	Fruit a reddish-brown, globose berry, 7-10 mm. in diameter.	Berries reddish, glabrous, depressed globose or subglobose, 7-10 mm.
Flowers		Inflorescence paniculate, golden glandular, each flower subtended by a bract nearly equal to pedicel; flowers light pink to pinkish-white, corolla conic to urn-shaped, with 5 short lobes; stamens 10, the anthers opening by false terminal pores, each with 2 curved, reflexed, horn-like appendages; ovary superior, glabrous or pubescent.

	Arctostaphylos nevadensis	Arctostaphylos patula
Identification notes	The fruit is the best feature for distinguishing A. nevadensis from A. uva-ursi. The fruit of A. nevedensis is reddish with splotches of brown or black; that of A. uva-ursi is bright red. Without fruit, look at the leaf color. The leaves of A. nevadensis are bright green on both surfaces; those of A. uva-ursi are dark green on the upper surface and light green on the lower.
Flowering time	May-July	May-June
Habitat	Dry forest edge and openings from middle elevations in the mountains to the subalpine.	Chaparral and dry, open forests.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Nevada. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where disjunct in Chelan County, otherwise in Klickitat County only; Washington to California, east to Montana and Colorado. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. columbiana, A. ×media, A. nevadensis × A. patula, A. patula, A. uva-ursi	A. columbiana, A. ×media, A. nevadensis, A. nevadensis × A. patula, A. uva-ursi
Subordinate taxa	A. nevadensis ssp. nevadensis
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Arctostaphylos patula

pinemat manzanita

green-leaf manzanita

Habit

Shrubs with spreading to decumbent stems often forming large mats or mounds, the branch tips to 2 dm. tall; bark brownish-red, stems puberulent, sometimes glandular.

Erect or mound forming evergreen shrubs, 1-3 m tall; simple at base throughout most of range; reddish exfoliating bark on older branches; twigs usually densely golden-glandular, rarely white-hairy.

Leaves

Leaves oblong to spatulate, the tips acute or abruptly pointed;

blades 1.5-3 cm. long, glabrous to puberulent on the margins and mid-rib, the base acute or narrowed abruptly to petioles 2-5 mm. long.

Leaves alternate, bright green and shiny, ovate to orbiculate, 2-6 cm long and 1-4 cm broad, glabrous or rarely pubescent, petioles 7-15 mm.

Flowers

: Inflorescence a terminal, few-flowered raceme, each flower subtended by a bract about equal to the pedicel;

flowers pink, about 5 mm. long;

corolla urn-shaped, with 5 short lobes;

stamens 10, the anthers opening by false terminal pores, each with 2 curved, reflexed, horn-like appendages;

ovary superior, pubescent.

Fruits

Fruit a reddish-brown, globose berry, 7-10 mm. in diameter.

Berries reddish, glabrous, depressed globose or subglobose, 7-10 mm.

Flowers

Inflorescence paniculate, golden glandular, each flower subtended by a bract nearly equal to pedicel;

flowers light pink to pinkish-white, corolla conic to urn-shaped, with 5 short lobes;

stamens 10, the anthers opening by false terminal pores, each with 2 curved, reflexed, horn-like appendages;

ovary superior, glabrous or pubescent.

The fruit is the best feature for distinguishing A. nevadensis from A. uva-ursi. The fruit of A. nevedensis is reddish with splotches of brown or black; that of A. uva-ursi is bright red. Without fruit, look at the leaf color. The leaves of A. nevadensis are bright green on both surfaces; those of A. uva-ursi are dark green on the upper surface and light green on the lower.

Flowering time

May-July

May-June

Habitat

Dry forest edge and openings from middle elevations in the mountains to the subalpine.

Chaparral and dry, open forests.

Distribution

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Nevada.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where disjunct in Chelan County, otherwise in Klickitat County only; Washington to California, east to Montana and Colorado.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa

A. columbiana, A. ×media, A. nevadensis × A. patula, A. patula, A. uva-ursi

A. columbiana, A. ×media, A. nevadensis, A. nevadensis × A. patula, A. uva-ursi

Subordinate taxa

A. nevadensis ssp. nevadensis

Web links