Arctostaphylos

Arctostaphylos (from  "bear" and   "bunch of grapes") is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas  and bearberries. There are about 60 species of Arctostaphylos, ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain shrub to small trees up to 6 m tall. Most are evergreen (one species deciduous), with small oval leaves 1–7 cm long, arranged spirally on the stems. The flowers are bell-shaped, white or pale pink, and borne in small clusters of 2–20 together; flowering is in the spring. The fruit are small berries, ripening in the summer or autumn. The berries of some species are edible.

Arctostaphylos species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora arctostaphyli (which feeds exclusively on A. uva-ursi) and Coleophora glaucella.

Distribution
Manzanitas, the bulk of Arctostaphylos species, are present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia in Canada, Washington to California and New Mexico in the United States, and throughout much of northern and central Mexico.

One species, however, A. uva-ursi (common bearberry), is adapted to arctic and subarctic climates and has a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe.

An unusual association of manzanita occurs on Hood Mountain, in Sonoma County, California, where stands of pygmy forest dominated by Mendocino cypress are found.

Fossil record
One fossil fruit of †Arctostaphylos globula and several fossil fruits of †Arctostaphylos menzelii have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.

Cultivation
Cultivation is generally difficult due to fungal diseases, and often salinity and alkalinity. Overhead watering should be avoided in hot weather. Some cultivars are easier to grow.

Taxonomy
The following species are recognised in the genus Arctostaphylos:
 * Arctostaphylos acutifolia Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos andersonii A.Gray
 * Arctostaphylos auriculata Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos australis Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos bakeri Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos bolensis P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos canescens Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos catalinae P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos caucasica Lipsch.
 * Arctostaphylos columbiana Piper
 * Arctostaphylos confertiflora Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos cratericola (Donn.Sm.) Donn.Sm.
 * Arctostaphylos crustacea Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos cruzensis Roof
 * Arctostaphylos densiflora M.S.Baker
 * Arctostaphylos edmundsii J.T.Howell
 * Arctostaphylos franciscana Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos gabilanensis V.T.Parker & M.C.Vasey
 * Arctostaphylos glandulosa Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos glauca Lindl.
 * Arctostaphylos glutinosa B.Schreib.
 * Arctostaphylos × helleri Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos hispidula Howell
 * Arctostaphylos hookeri G.Don
 * Arctostaphylos hooveri P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos imbricata Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos incognita J.E.Keeley, Massihi, J.Delgad. & Hirales
 * Arctostaphylos insularis Greene & Parry
 * Arctostaphylos × jepsonii Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos klamathensis S.W.Edwards, Keeler-Wolf & W.Knight
 * Arctostaphylos × laxiflora A.Heller ex Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos luciana P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos malloryi (W.Knight & Gankin) P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos manzanita Parry
 * Arctostaphylos × media Greene
 * Arctostaphylos mewukka Merriam
 * Arctostaphylos montana Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos montaraensis Roof
 * Arctostaphylos montereyensis Hoover
 * Arctostaphylos moranii P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos morroensis Wiesl. & B.Schreib.
 * Arctostaphylos myrtifolia Parry
 * Arctostaphylos nevadensis A.Gray
 * Arctostaphylos nissenana Merriam
 * Arctostaphylos nortensis (P.V.Wells) P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos nummularia A.Gray
 * Arctostaphylos obispoensis Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos ohloneana M.C.Vasey & V.T.Parker
 * Arctostaphylos osoensis P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos otayensis Wiesl. & B.Schreib.
 * Arctostaphylos pacifica Roof
 * Arctostaphylos pajaroensis J.E.Adams
 * Arctostaphylos pallida Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos parryana Lemmon
 * Arctostaphylos × parvifolia Howell
 * Arctostaphylos patula Greene
 * Arctostaphylos pechoensis (Abrams) Dudley ex Abrams
 * Arctostaphylos peninsularis P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos pilosula Jeps. & Wiesl.
 * Arctostaphylos pringlei Parry
 * Arctostaphylos pumila Nutt.
 * Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth
 * Arctostaphylos purissima P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos rainbowensis J.E.Keeley & Massihi
 * Arctostaphylos refugioensis Gankin
 * Arctostaphylos regismontana Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos × repens (Howell) P.V.Wells
 * Arctostaphylos rudis Jeps. & Wiesl.
 * Arctostaphylos sensitiva Jeps.
 * Arctostaphylos silvicola Jeps. & Wiesl.
 * Arctostaphylos stanfordiana Parry
 * Arctostaphylos × strigosa Howell
 * Arctostaphylos tomentosa (Pursh) Lindl.
 * Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.
 * Arctostaphylos virgata Eastw.
 * Arctostaphylos viridissima (Eastw.) McMinn
 * Arctostaphylos viscida Parry
 * Arctostaphylos wellsii W.Knight

See also the closely related genus Comarostaphylis, previously often included in Arctostaphylos.