Burke: Arctostaphylos nevadensis vs. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

	Arctostaphylos nevadensis	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
	pinemat manzanita	red bearberry, kinnikinnick
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.	Shrub; stems trailing across ground, less than 2 dm tall.
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.	Alternate, 1-3 cm long, dark green, leathery, rounded at tip.
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.	Light pink urn-shaped flowers in small clusters near tips of stems.
Fruits	Fruit a reddish-brown, globose berry, 7-10 mm. in diameter.	Bright red round berries 7-10 mm in diameter.

	Arctostaphylos nevadensis	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
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.	Low spreading shrub; leaves rounded at tip and about 2 cm. long; berries red rather than brown. Compare to A. nevadensis.
Flowering time	May-July	April-June
Habitat	Dry forest edge and openings from middle elevations in the mountains to the subalpine.	Coastal bluffs and prairies, rocky balds, dry subalpine meadows, and dry coniferous forest openings.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Nevada. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California east to the Rocky Mountains, also further east across the northern U.S. and Canada to the Atlantic Coast; circumboreal. [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. patula
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: BC, 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 uva-ursi

pinemat manzanita

red bearberry, kinnikinnick

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.

Shrub; stems trailing across ground, less than 2 dm tall.

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.

Alternate, 1-3 cm long, dark green, leathery, rounded at tip.

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.

Light pink urn-shaped flowers in small clusters near tips of stems.

Fruits

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

Bright red round berries 7-10 mm in diameter.

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.

Low spreading shrub; leaves rounded at tip and about 2 cm. long; berries red rather than brown. Compare to A. nevadensis.

Flowering time

May-July

April-June

Habitat

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

Coastal bluffs and prairies, rocky balds, dry subalpine meadows, and dry coniferous forest openings.

Distribution

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

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California east to the Rocky Mountains, also further east across the northern U.S. and Canada to the Atlantic Coast; circumboreal.

[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. patula

Subordinate taxa

A. nevadensis ssp. nevadensis

Web links