Flowering shrub

Common manzanita

Arctostaphylos manzanita

🌷 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

3of our state lists

2,973U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 23, 2026. 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.
From Wikipedia's article Arctostaphylos manzanita, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Common manzanita gift ideas

Handmade common manzanita gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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Common manzanita art print
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Common manzanita earrings
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Common manzanita embroidery pattern
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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (855 records)

Bloom time in each of our 3 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
California	🌷 Garden	January–December	2,971
Oregon	🌷 Garden	few records	2
Washington	🌷 Garden	few records	0

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.

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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.

More California flowers

Ghost pipe

Monotropa uniflora

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Salal

Gaultheria shallon

Native

🌼 Blooms: April–July

Woodland pinedrops

Pterospora andromedea

Native

🌼 Blooms: June–August

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile ARMA.
iNaturalist, Arctostaphylos manzanita: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 23, 2026.
Wikipedia, Arctostaphylos manzanita (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
California: California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026).
California: California noxious weed species (3 CCR § 4500).
Oregon: Oregon endangered and threatened plants (OAR 603-073-0070).
Oregon: Oregon noxious weed quarantine, A and B weeds (OAR 603-052-1200).
Washington: Washington State noxious weed list (WAC 16-750-005, -011, -015).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 23, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Arctostaphylos manzanita (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: My-Lan Le via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.