Pallid Manzanita facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pallid Manzanita |
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| A. pallida flowers | |
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A. pallida
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| Arctostaphylos pallida |
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Arctostaphylos pallida, often called Pallid Manzanita, Oakland Hills Manzanita, or Alameda Manzanita, is a type of shrub. It belongs to the Ericaceae family, also known as the heath family. This special plant only grows in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California.
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What the Pallid Manzanita Looks Like
The Pallid Manzanita grows to be about 6–13 ft (1.8–4.0 m) tall. Its branches are usually reddish or grayish. The younger twigs can feel a bit bristly.
Its leaves are shaped like an oval or triangle. They are also bristly and overlap each other tightly. These leaves are about 1.0-to-1.8-inch (25 to 46 mm) long and 0.8-to-1.2-inch (20 to 30 mm) wide.
The flowers are dense and white. They are shaped like small urns and are about 0.2-to-0.3-inch (5.1 to 7.6 mm) long. You can see these flowers from November to March.
The Pallid Manzanita is often found near another manzanita, the Brittle Leaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos tomentosa ssp. crustacea). However, the Brittle Leaf Manzanita has a special woody growth called a burl and its leaves spread out. The Pallid Manzanita does not have a burl.
Where the Pallid Manzanita Lives
This plant grows at elevations from 656–1,460 feet (200–445 m). It prefers thin soils made of chert and shale. You can find these plants in a type of habitat called manzanita chaparral. This is part of the montane chaparral and woodlands ecosystem. It is often surrounded by oak woodlands and other chaparral shrubs.
Only Found Here
The Pallid Manzanita is known from about 13 groups of plants. These are found in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The two largest groups are protected by the East Bay Regional Park District. One is at Huckleberry Ridge—Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve. The other is at Sobrante Ridge Regional Park.
Many smaller groups of these plants grow in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The two biggest groups cover about 82 acres (330,000 m2). These large groups live in a habitat called maritime sage and chaparral. This area has moist soil and is influenced by the nearby ocean. Many smaller groups live in coastal scrub areas.
Why the Pallid Manzanita Needs Help
The main reasons this plant is in danger are:
- Fire control: Not enough natural fires allow other plants to grow too much.
- Competition: Other native plants and introduced plants (plants brought from other places) compete for space and sunlight. Some of these are invasive species and spread quickly.
Other smaller threats include plant diseases from fungi, chemicals used to kill plants, and mixing with other plant types. Building roads also harms their homes. The ongoing breaking up and loss of their natural habitat is also a problem.
This plant is listed as a federally threatened species. This means it is protected by the government. The California Department of Fish and Game listed it as an endangered species in November 1997. The California Native Plant Society also lists it as rare or endangered across its range.
