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Plant Profile

Island Manzanita (Arctostaphylos insularis)

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Ericaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 160425
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

Arctostaphylos insularis, like the neighboring Santa Rosa Manzanita (A. confertiflora), is also endemic to one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA. Specifically, A. insularis is endemic to the Santa Cruz Island, the largest island, where it prefers a variety of habitats including chaparral, oak woodlands, pine forests, and coastal bluffs. The Island Manzanita is in bloom half the year (December-June) until it further matures into orange-brown colored drupe. With its waxy red limbs, characteristic among all Manzanita species, they are known to develop into tree-like structures up to 5 meters high.

Where is Island Manzanita (Arctostaphylos insularis) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Typically, this shrub can be found among chapparal, oak woodland, and pine forest habitats where it can grow on coastal bluffs, rocky slopes, and canyon walls. Its preferred substrates are igneous substrates and even metamorphic rock (NatureServe 2016).

Distribution:

This perennial shrub is native to Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA.

States & Provinces:

Island Manzanita can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Island Manzanita (Arctostaphylos insularis)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/13/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 1 accessions of Arctostaphylos insularis in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 19 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has collected 1 seed accessions of Arctostaphylos insularis from 1 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass an unknown number of maternal plants