Manzanita

The name manzanita is also sometimes used to refer to species in the related genus Arbutus, which is known by that name in the Canadian area of the tree's range, but is more usually known as madroño, or madrone in the United States.

Native Americans in Northern California make a tisane from manzanita leaves to treat poison oak rash.

They are evergreen, highly drought-tolerant, have picturesque bark and attractive flowers and berries, and occur in many sizes and growth patterns.

Florists sometimes use them as centerpieces at wedding receptions and other events, often adding hanging votive candles, beaded gems, and small flowers.

Sunlight smooths and bleaches manzanita to light grey or white, rendering it superficially akin to animal bones.

Some aquarium keepers use sandblasted manzanita as driftwood in planted aquaria because of its attractive forked growth and its chemical neutrality.

However, caution should be exercised because the high temperatures can damage thin-walled barbecues and even crack cast iron stoves or cause chimney fires.

[citation needed] During World War II, manzanita root burls were used as a suitable native material to make smoking pipes due to its relation and similar fire-resistant properties to then-unavailable imported briar.

[16] Arctostaphylos montana ravenii (Presidio manzanita),[17][18] an endemic species, is the most endangered and restricted plant in the mainland United States.

[23][24][25] Transplanting costs were funded in part by Federal Highways Administration, Caltrans, The Presidio of San Francisco, and private donors.

[26][27][28] Arctostaphylos hookeri, subspecies franciscana, a scrubby, thin-twigged bush, riddled with the webs of miniature spiders, resides in a corner of the California section of The Strybing Arboretum.

[30][31][32][33][34][35] Arctostaphylos gabrielensis is a "critically imperiled" species of manzanita endemic to a tiny area in the San Gabriel Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California.

In any case, fossil ancestors of the genus Arctostaphylos have been suggested to have occurred in the Middle Miocene, with modern species beginning to take shape in the Late Tertiary."