Arctostaphylos (; from "bear" and "bunch of grapes") is a genus of plants comprising the manzanitas () and bearberries. They are shrubs or small trees.
There are about 60 species, of Arctostaphylos, ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain species 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.
Three species, the bearberries, A. alpina (alpine bearberry), A. rubra (red bearberry) and A. uva-ursi (common bearberry), have adapted to arctic and subarctic climates, and have 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
Arctostaphylos andersonii
Arctostaphylos auriculata
Arctostaphylos australis
Arctostaphylos bakeri
Arctostaphylos bolensis
Arctostaphylos canescens
Arctostaphylos catalinae
Arctostaphylos caucasica
Arctostaphylos columbiana
Arctostaphylos confertiflora
Arctostaphylos cratericola
Arctostaphylos crustacea
Arctostaphylos cruzensis
Arctostaphylos densiflora
Arctostaphylos edmundsii
Arctostaphylos franciscana
Arctostaphylos gabilanensis
Arctostaphylos glandulosa
Arctostaphylos glauca
Arctostaphylos glutinosa
Arctostaphylos × helleri
Arctostaphylos hispidula
Arctostaphylos hookeri
Arctostaphylos hooveri
Arctostaphylos imbricata
Arctostaphylos incognita
Arctostaphylos insularis
Arctostaphylos × jepsonii
Arctostaphylos klamathensis
Arctostaphylos × laxiflora
Arctostaphylos luciana
Arctostaphylos malloryi
Arctostaphylos manzanita
Arctostaphylos × media
Arctostaphylos mewukka
Arctostaphylos montana
Arctostaphylos montaraensis
Arctostaphylos montereyensis
Arctostaphylos moranii
Arctostaphylos morroensis
Arctostaphylos myrtifolia
Arctostaphylos nevadensis
Arctostaphylos nissenana
Arctostaphylos nortensis
Arctostaphylos nummularia
Arctostaphylos obispoensis
Arctostaphylos ohloneana
Arctostaphylos osoensis
Arctostaphylos otayensis
Arctostaphylos pacifica
Arctostaphylos pajaroensis
Arctostaphylos pallida
Arctostaphylos parryana
Arctostaphylos × parvifolia
Arctostaphylos patula
Arctostaphylos pechoensis
Arctostaphylos peninsularis
Arctostaphylos pilosula
Arctostaphylos pringlei
Arctostaphylos pumila
Arctostaphylos pungens
Arctostaphylos purissima
Arctostaphylos rainbowensis
Arctostaphylos refugioensis
Arctostaphylos regismontana
Arctostaphylos × repens
Arctostaphylos rudis
Arctostaphylos sensitiva
Arctostaphylos silvicola
Arctostaphylos stanfordiana
Arctostaphylos × strigosa
Arctostaphylos tomentosa
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Arctostaphylos virgata
Arctostaphylos viridissima
Arctostaphylos viscida
Arctostaphylos wellsii
See also the closely related genus Comarostaphylis, previously often included in Arctostaphylos.