Arctostaphylos pungens – Pointleaf Manzanita

Arctostaphylos pungens - Pointleaf Manzanita (flowers)

Arctostaphylos pungens - Pointleaf Manzanita (fruit)

Arctostaphylos pungens - Pointleaf Manzanita (fruit)

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Arctostaphylos pungens

Common Name: Pointleaf Manzanita

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Evergreen

Growth Habit: Shrub, Subshrub

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Upland, Mountain

Flower Color: Pale pink, White

Flowering Season: Winter (late), Spring (early)

Height: To 6 feet (1.8 m) tall

Description: The flowers are glabrous, shaped like inverted vases, 1/4 inch (6 mm) long, and in clusters at the branch tips. The flowers are followed by round, reddish brown to orange berries. Animals and birds will eat the fruit. The leaves are green, stiff, leathery, held vertically, and have sharply pointed tips. The branches have beautiful, smooth, reddish brown bark.

Special Characteristics

Edible – The fruit is edible either raw or cooked, but it is dry and mealy.

Hummingbird Flower – The flowers attract hummingbirds.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae – Heath family
Genus: Arctostaphylos Adans. – manzanita
Species: Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth – pointleaf manzanita

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map