Arctostaphylos columbiana
Manzanita
Habitat:
Occurs in sunny locations on well drained sandy, gravelly or rocky soils; on the west side of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada Mountains form Washington to California. Species is common along the coast as well as the Coast Range (Randall et al 1988).
Courtesy USDA Plants Database
Bushy shrub or small tree with stiff and gnarled branches, rarely exceeds 12’ in height and 5” in diameter. Leaves leathery 1” to 2” long, elliptical, round; dull green or pale blue green, hairy on both sides of the leaf. Flowers pinkish-white and urn shaped in small clusters. Fruit smooth red berry like drupes ¼” to 1/3” in diameter. Bark smooth, born on young stems, becoming dark reddish brown; exfoliates revealing lighter under bark (Randall et al 1988).