Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Arctostaphylos purissima

Arctostaphylos viscida

La Purisima manzanita, La Purissima manzanita

sticky manzanita, sticky whiteleaf manzanita, white-leaf manzanita
Habit Shrubs, erect, 1–4 m; burl absent; twigs densely short-hairy with longer hairs. Shrubs, erect, 1–3 m; burl absent; twigs glabrous, sparsely short-hairy, or densely glandular-hairy.
Leaves

petiole to 2 mm;

blade bright green, shiny, orbiculate-ovate to ± orbiculate, 1–2.5 × 1–2 cm, base auriculate-clasping, margins entire, plane, surfaces smooth, glabrous.

petiole 5–12 mm;

blade white-glaucous, dull, ovate to ± orbiculate, 2–5 × 2–4 cm, base rounded, truncate, or ± lobed, margins entire or ciliate, plane, surfaces smooth-papillate, rough, scabrous, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.
Inflorescences

racemes, simple or 1–2-branched;

immature inflorescence pendent, (branches dense, concealed by bracts), axis 0.5–1 cm, 1+ mm diam., densely short-hairy with longer hairs;

bracts not appressed, (overlapping), leaflike, ovate to lanceolate-ovate, 5–8 mm, apex acute, surfaces glabrous.

panicles, 4–7-branched;

immature inflorescence pendent or ascending, branches spreading, axis 1–3 cm, 1+ mm diam., densely glandular, (sticky);

bracts appressed, (glaucous), scalelike, deltate, 3–4 mm, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces viscid-glandular (rarely minutely stipitate-glandular) or glandular-hairy, especially along margins.
Pedicels

3–5 mm, sparsely hairy or glabrous.

6–10 mm, finely to densely glandular-hairy.
Flowers

corolla white, conic to urceolate;

ovary glabrous.

corolla white, conic to urceolate;

ovary glabrous or glandular-hairy.
Fruits

depressed-globose, 5–8 mm diam., glabrous.

depressed-globose, 6–8 mm diam., glabrous or sparsely to densely glandular-hairy, (sometimes viscid).
Stones

distinct.

distinct.
2n

= 26.

Arctostaphylos purissima

Arctostaphylos viscida
Phenology Flowering winter–early spring.
Habitat Maritime chaparral on deep, sandy soils
Elevation 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Arctostaphylos purissima is known from hills and mesas near the coast (Burton Mesa) in Santa Barbara County.

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

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

Arctostaphylos viscida is distributed widely in the Sierra Nevada and northern Coast Ranges of California and the Cascade Mountains in southern Oregon. The subspecies occasionally occur in mixed populations, especially subspp. viscida and mariposa.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Twigs densely glandular-hairy; leaf blades sparsely short glandular-hairy.
subsp. mariposa
1. Twigs and leaf blades glabrous (except sometimes near inflorescence)
→ 2
2. Ovaries and fruits smooth, glabrous, not viscid.
subsp. viscida
2. Ovaries and fruits rough, densely glandular, viscid.
subsp. pulchella
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 434. FNA vol. 8, p. 423.
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. patula, A. pechoensis, A. pilosula, A. pringlei, A. pumila, A. pungens, 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. rainbowensis, A. refugioensis, A. regismontana, A. rudis, A. sensitiva, A. silvicola, A. stanfordiana, A. tomentosa, A. uva-ursi, A. virgata, A. viridissima
Subordinate taxa
A. viscida subsp. mariposa, A. viscida subsp. pulchella, A. viscida subsp. viscida
Name authority P. V. Wells: Madroño 19: 195. 1968 , Parry: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2: 492. 1887 ,
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers