Arctostaphylos rudis Jeps. & Wies. ex Jeps. shagbark manzanita sand mesa manzanita USDA ARRU2 Greek "arctos" (a bear) and "staphyle" (a bunch of grapes) / Latin word for rude, raw, or rough (describing the bark) CA Leaf: Alternate, simple, evergreen, elliptical to somewhat leanceolate, to 1 1/2 inches long, leathery, entire margins, pointed at tip and generally rounded at base, bright green above and below, initially hairy but becoming smooth with age, often they are arranged nearly vertically. Flower: Perfect, urn-shaped, 1/4 inch long, pinkish-white, occurring in tightly grouped hanging cluster at the ends of twigs in late fall to winter. Fruit: Small, 3/8 inch round, brick red, berry-like drupe that resembles a tiny apple, maturing in the summer and persistent. Twig: Yellow green to purplish and pale hairy, buds are small and pointy. Bark: Very rough, weathered gray strips peeling and flaking to reveal red underneath. Form: A thicket forming shrub to 7 feet tall and wide but commonly to only 2 feet tall, with numerous crooked branches. Site: Found on sandy soils in the chaparral, it is mostly restricted to Burton Mesa in Santa Barbara County. Tidbits: This species is threatened because it has such a restricted range. A tough plant, it grows on sands in an area that receives most of its precipitation from fog. Show A. pungens Other manzanitas have more smooth bark. Status code 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 alternate fleshy pink white broadleaf NULL simple unlobed entire ovate lanceolate 1 thick straight fuzzless pubescense NULL narrow broad 1 scaly short tall unarmed NULL NULL shrub dry mesic