Bloomipedia
Common manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita)
Photo: My-Lan Le via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flowering shrub

Common manzanita

Arctostaphylos manzanita

Common manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita) is a shrub in the Ericaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly January–December across the U.S.

🌷 Flowering shrubNative in the lower 48

Common manzanita is a popular flowering shrub. It's on our flower lists for 3 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in January–December.

1states where USDA records it
3Bloomipedia state lists include it
2,973U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 23, 2026. Our state lists also include states where people grow it in gardens, so they can outnumber USDA's wild-plant records. Planted garden shrubs are mostly excluded from research grade.

On our lists for: California, Oregon, Washington

Quick look

One of many species of manzanita, Arctostaphylos manzanita has the common names common manzanita and whiteleaf manzanita.

  • It belongs to the Ericaceae family. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 1 states. USDA PLANTS
  • NatureServe lists it as native to California. NatureServe
  • In California, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in January–December. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS lists its flower color as white. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS gives its bloom period as winter. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists a mature height of about 8 ft. USDA PLANTS
  • iNaturalist has 2,971 research-grade sightings of it in California, ranking #107 among the 178 flowers on our California list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 2 research-grade sightings of it in Oregon, ranking #135 among the 184 flowers on our Oregon list. iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (855 records)
Bloom time in the 3 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it
StateTypePeak bloomSightings*
California🌷 GardenJanuary–December2,971
Oregon🌷 Gardenno flowering records2
Washington🌷 Gardenno flowering records0

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)
Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
NatureServe global
G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
California
Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in California. CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)
Oregon
Not listed Not on Oregon endangered and threatened plants (OAR 603-073-0070). NatureServe has no Oregon rank for it. OAR 603-073-0070
Washington
No list Washington has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the Washington Natural Heritage Program's rare plant list isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Washington ranks instead. NatureServe has no Washington rank for it.
Rare elsewhere
No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 23, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records common manzanita in 1 states.

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

California.

California counties with USDA records: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo.

Growing conditions

USDA PLANTS gives Common manzanita a medium shade tolerance, high drought tolerance and low moisture use. It is rated for soil pH 5.5 to 7.3 and winter lows down to -23 °F.

Shade tolerance
Medium
Drought tolerance
High
Moisture use
Low
Soil textures it is adapted to
coarse, medium
Soil pH range
5.5 to 7.3
Minimum temperature tolerated
-23 °F
Frost-free days needed (minimum)
120
Annual precipitation range
14 to 60 inches
Minimum root depth
20 inches
Salinity tolerance
None
Fertility requirement
Low
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Active growth period
Spring and Summer
Fruit or seed
White · Summer to Summer
Can be propagated by
bare root, container, seed
Commercial availability
Contracting Only

From the USDA PLANTS characteristics data for ARMA. USDA ratings are general guidance for the species, not a guarantee for your garden.

Names, range and relatives

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 24 counties across 1 states; the most are in California (24).

Other Arctostaphylos on Bloomipedia (1): Bearberry.

More from the Ericaceae family (55 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Ghost pipe, Rhododendrons and azaleas, Striped wintergreen, Mountain laurel, Eastern teaberry (wintergreen), Salal, Woodland pinedrops, Pinesap.

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Sources