Manzanita bark peeling off in small curls Florists sometimes use them as centerpieces at wedding receptions and other events, often adding hanging votive candles, beaded gems and small flowers to them. Manzanita branches are popular as decoration, due to their unique shape, color, and strength when dried. They prefer light, well-drained soil, although the low-growing ground covers will tolerate heavier soils. Hurd,' can be grown as individual specimens, and pruned to emphasize the striking pattern and colors of the branches. Larger varieties, such as Arctostaphylos. uva-ursi (the Bearberry), and other low-growing manzanitas are extremely valuable evergreen groundcovers for dry slopes. They are evergreen, highly drought-tolerant, have picturesque bark and attractive flowers and berries, and come in many sizes and growth patterns.Īrctostaphylos columbiana, for example, is hardy enough to be used for highway landscaping in western Oregon and Washington. Manzanitas are extremely useful as ornamental plants in gardens in the western United States and similar climate zones.

Native Americans use the fresh berries to make cider and use the leaves as toothbrushes. They are good eaten alone, or used as a thickener or sweetener in other dishes. The berries can be eaten ripe (when red) or green for a slightly sour taste. Once stored and dried, the berries can be ground into a coarse meal. The berries are a good food, as they can be harvested en masse and stored. 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. A literal translation would be little apple. The word manzanita is the Spanish diminutive of manzana (apple). The berries and flowers of most species are edible. Manzanitas bloom in the winter to early spring and carry berries in spring and summer. There are 105 species and subspecies of manzanita, 95 of which are found in the Mediterranean climate and colder mountainous regions of California, ranging from ground-hugging coastal and mountain species to small trees up to 20 feet (6m) tall. They are characterized by smooth orange or red bark and stiff, twisting branches.

Manzanitas can live in places with poor soil and little water. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in the United States, and throughout Mexico.

Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos.

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