It was named by Alice Eastwood and is native to the city of San Francisco.

[3] When the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco was bulldozed in 1947, it was thought that the Arctostaphylos franciscana went extinct.

[6][7] The land the plant was found on was part of the Caltrans Doyle Drive Replacement Project and was not protected, which prompted litigation.

Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Franciscan manzanita as an endangered species on October 5, 2012.

[9][10][11] The National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are attempting to cross-pollinate and propagate the preserved specimen in order to reintroduce the subspecies in the wild.