Flora of North America species comparison

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Arctostaphylos patula

Arctostaphylos rainbowensis

green-leaf manzanita

rainbow manzanita
Habit Shrubs, erect or mound-forming, 1–3 m; burl usually absent, sometimes flat, obscure; twigs usually densely short-hairy with golden glands on tips of hairs, rarely short white-hairy and eglandular. Shrubs, erect, 1–4 m; burl present; twigs minutely glandular-hairy.
Leaves

petiole 7–15 mm;

blade bright green (lightly gray-green if short-hairy), shiny, widely ovate to orbiculate, 2.5–6 × 1.5–4 cm, base rounded, truncate, or slightly lobed, (not clasping), margins entire, plane, surfaces smooth, glabrous or, rarely, short-hairy.

petiole 6–12 mm;

blade light green to weakly glaucous or glaucous, dull, elliptic-ovate, 3.5–5 × 2–3.5 cm, base rounded, margins entire, plane, surfaces smooth, glabrous.
Inflorescences

panicles, 2–8-branched;

immature inflorescence pendent, branches spreading, axis 1.5–3 cm, 1+ mm diam., hairy with golden glands on tips of hairs or short-hairy and eglandular;

bracts appressed with incurved tips, scalelike, deltate, 4–6 mm, apex acuminate, surfaces usually densely tomentose with golden glands on tips of hairs, rarely short white-hairy and eglandular.

panicles, 4–10-branched;

immature inflorescence pendent, axis 2–3 cm, 1+ mm diam., glabrous;

bracts appressed, scalelike, deltate to awl-like, 2–4 mm, apex acute, surfaces glabrous.
Pedicels

2–7 mm, glabrous or white-hairy.

5–10 mm, glabrous.
Flowers

corolla mostly pink, conic to urceolate;

ovary glabrous or white-hairy.

corolla white, conic to urceolate;

ovary glabrous.
Fruits

depressed-globose, sometimes subglobose, 7–10 mm diam., glabrous.

globose, 8–12 mm diam., glabrous.
Stones

distinct.

connate into single sphere.
2n

= 26.

= 26.

Arctostaphylos patula

Arctostaphylos rainbowensis
Phenology Flowering late spring–early summer. Flowering winter–early spring.
Habitat Mountain chaparral and forests Chaparral of granite uplands
Elevation 400-3000 m (1300-9800 ft) 500-700 m (1600-2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Arctostaphylos patula is abundant and widespread in western North America as a dominant in montane chaparral, pine forest gaps, and high-elevation arid-steppe and canyon-land environments. Populations throughout western North America are characterized by twigs and inflorescence parts covered with relatively short hairs tipped with golden glands. In the central to northern Sierra Nevada, mixed with the widespread form are individuals that are eglandular and have a cover of relatively short, whitish hairs on the stems and inflorescences. Similarly, throughout most of its range, A. patula is nonsprouting after fire, and in areas characterized by winter snow cover it layers and creates broad, low mounds. In much of California, it typically sprouts after fires from obscure and flattened burls, forming circles of erect sprouts.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Of conservation concern.

Arctostaphylos rainbowensis is found in a coastal portion of the Peninsular Range in northern San Diego and adjacent Riverside counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 416. FNA vol. 8, p. 422.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Arbutoideae > Arctostaphylos Ericaceae > subfam. Arbutoideae > Arctostaphylos
Sibling taxa
A. andersonii, A. auriculata, A. bakeri, A. canescens, A. catalinae, A. columbiana, A. confertiflora, A. crustacea, A. cruzensis, A. densiflora, A. edmundsii, A. franciscana, A. gabilanensis, A. glandulosa, A. glauca, A. glutinosa, A. hispidula, A. hookeri, A. hooveri, A. imbricata, A. insularis, A. klamathensis, A. luciana, A. malloryi, A. manzanita, A. mewukka, A. montana, A. montaraensis, A. montereyensis, A. morroensis, A. myrtifolia, A. nevadensis, A. nissenana, A. nortensis, A. nummularia, A. obispoensis, A. ohloneana, A. osoensis, A. otayensis, A. pacifica, A. pajaroensis, A. pallida, A. parryana, A. pechoensis, A. pilosula, A. pringlei, A. pumila, A. pungens, A. purissima, A. rainbowensis, A. refugioensis, A. regismontana, A. rudis, A. sensitiva, A. silvicola, A. stanfordiana, A. tomentosa, A. uva-ursi, A. virgata, A. viridissima, A. viscida
A. andersonii, A. auriculata, A. bakeri, A. canescens, A. catalinae, A. columbiana, A. confertiflora, A. crustacea, A. cruzensis, A. densiflora, A. edmundsii, A. franciscana, A. gabilanensis, A. glandulosa, A. glauca, A. glutinosa, A. hispidula, A. hookeri, A. hooveri, A. imbricata, A. insularis, A. klamathensis, A. luciana, A. malloryi, A. manzanita, A. mewukka, A. montana, A. montaraensis, A. montereyensis, A. morroensis, A. myrtifolia, A. nevadensis, A. nissenana, A. nortensis, A. nummularia, A. obispoensis, A. ohloneana, A. osoensis, A. otayensis, A. pacifica, A. pajaroensis, A. pallida, A. parryana, A. patula, A. pechoensis, A. pilosula, A. pringlei, A. pumila, A. pungens, A. purissima, A. refugioensis, A. regismontana, A. rudis, A. sensitiva, A. silvicola, A. stanfordiana, A. tomentosa, A. uva-ursi, A. virgata, A. viridissima, A. viscida
Synonyms A. acutifolia, A. parryana var. pinetorum, A. patula var. coalescens, A. patula subsp. platyphylla, A. platyphylla
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 2: 171. 1891 , J. E. Keeley & Massihi: Madroño 41: 2, fig. 1. 1994 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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