Arctostaphylos imbricata
Encyclopedia
Arctostaphylos imbricata is a species of manzanita
known by the common name San Bruno Mountain manzanita. It is endemic to San Mateo County, California
, where it is known only from six populations on San Bruno Mountain
. Despite its rarity, this manzanita is not a federally listed endangered species
because five of its six remaining populations are protected by the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan. This is a small, spreading, matlike shrub
forming flat tangles or mounds less than a meter in height. The branches are coated in long bristles tipped in resin glands. The light green, glandular leaves are round to oval with rough, bristly, dull surfaces and smooth or toothed edges. They are up to 4 centimeters long and 3 wide. The dense inflorescence
is crowded with rounded, urn-shaped white flowers, each only 3 to 5 millimeters long. The fruit is a hairy, glandular drupe
about 7 millimeters wide. This plant grows in the chaparral
plant community. Like many other chaparral species, it requires wildfire
for reproduction. Fire suppression in its native habitat is one threat to its survival.
Arctostaphylos
Arctostaphylos is a genus of plants comprised by 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 , with small oval...
known by the common name San Bruno Mountain manzanita. It is endemic to San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
, where it is known only from six populations on San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain
San Bruno Mountain in northern San Mateo County, California is the northernmost part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the mountain lies within the San Bruno Mountain State Park, a unique open-space island in the midst of the San Francisco Peninsula's urbanization. Next to the state park is the...
. Despite its rarity, this manzanita is not a federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
because five of its six remaining populations are protected by the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan. This is a small, spreading, matlike shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
forming flat tangles or mounds less than a meter in height. The branches are coated in long bristles tipped in resin glands. The light green, glandular leaves are round to oval with rough, bristly, dull surfaces and smooth or toothed edges. They are up to 4 centimeters long and 3 wide. The dense inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is crowded with rounded, urn-shaped white flowers, each only 3 to 5 millimeters long. The fruit is a hairy, glandular drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
about 7 millimeters wide. This plant grows in the chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
plant community. Like many other chaparral species, it requires wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
for reproduction. Fire suppression in its native habitat is one threat to its survival.