ARCMAN

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ARMA
ARMAE
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Mariposa manzanita
common manzanita

The currently accepted scientific name of Mariposa manzanita is Arctostaphylos manzanita Parry (Ericaceae). There are 6 subspecies [17]:

A. manzanita ssp. elegans (Jepson) P. Wells
A. manzanitaa ssp. glaucescens P.Wells
A. manzanita ssp. laevigata (Eastwood) Munz
A. manzanita ssp. manzanita
A. manzanita ssp. roofii (Gankin) Wells 
A. manzanita ssp. wieslanderi Wells.
        
Arctostaphylos manzanita hybridizes with A. truei to produce A. × laxiflora Heller [37].

Shrub

No special status

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Mariposa manzanita occurs in central and northern California [4]. It is found from Contra Costa County north to Humboldt, Trinity, and Shasta counties [23]; and from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Shasta County south to Mariposa County [7,23]. Mariposa manzanita may occur in some parts of southern Oregon [1].

FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES34 Chaparral-mountain shrub

CA   OR

3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains

K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral

246 California black oak
247 Jeffrey pine
248 Knobcone pine
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak-gray pine

204 North coastal scrub
209 montane shrubland
210 Blue oak woodland
202 Coast oak woodland

Mariposa manzanita occurs in chaparral, woodland, and forest communities. It is commonly associated with ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), gray pine (P. sabiniana), blue oak (Quercus douglasii), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) [9,15,25,30]. Holland [18] listed Mariposa manzanita as a community type dominant in montane chaparral.

Mariposa manzanita is poor livestock browse but is a valuable food source for wildlife. The fruits are eaten by coyotes, foxes, and various species of birds including blue and sharp-tailed grouse [2,5,35]. The foliage is considered inferior browse for deer, although it is used to some extent on winter ranges. Young seedlings are preferred over mature shrubs [5,28].

The palatability of Mariposa manzanita is rated as poor for cattle, sheep, domestic goats, horses, and mule deer [28].

Manzanita spp. do not provide high-quality browse [28].

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Mariposa manzanita has been planted on flood control channels in California [12].

Food: The fruits of Mariposa manzanita can be used to make jelly [22].

Medicinal: The leaves of Mariposa manzanita contain arbutin, a glycoside that is broken down to hydroquinone in the urine. This gives manzanita disinfecting qualities that make it useful in the treatment of mild urinary tract infections, bladder gravel, chronic kidney inflammations, and water retention. The leaves also function as a mild vasoconstrictor for the uterus [22].

Wood: The trunks and branches can be used in wood carving and woodworking [22].

Mariposa manzanita and greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula) as raw material for processing into products such as torula yeast, furfural, methanol, brewer's yeast, and other assorted sugars and acids. These products were obtained through hydrolysis of various wood components [6].

Mariposa manzanita can be effectively controlled through the aerial application of herbicides such as 2,4,D; 2,4,5-T; 2,4,DB; and triclopyr ester [13,14,33]. Mariposa manzanita plants can also be killed by heavy chopping or burning [27]. However, controlled burning alone is not an effective method of removing this shrub from a site because the heat from fire stimulates germination of the residual seed stock in the soil [5,13]. For burning to be effective, it needs to be done in conjunction with some other control method, or on a frequent schedule [24]. Continual heavy winter browsing by deer can kill young plants in 4 to 5 years. Winter browsing can also retard plant development and delay seed production [5].

Mariposa manzanita is an erect native perennial shrub. On favorable sites it can become treelike, attaining heights in excess of 20 feet (6 m) and developing a single short trunk. On most sites, however, it ranges from 6 to 12 feet (2-4 m) tall. Mature limbs are long and crooked with smooth, dark reddish-brown bark, which peels irregularly in thin flakes. The young twigs are pale green with downy hairs. The white or pale pink flowers occur in drooping open clusters. The fruit is a small berrylike drupe, which persists on the shrub year-round. In early summer it is white, but in late summer it turns a deep red. The nutlets are irregularly coalesced or separate. Mariposa manzanita lacks a lignotuber. [7,23,28,30,32,35].

Phanerophyte

Sexual: Mariposa manzanita reproduces by seed. The seeds have an extremely thick endocarp and will not germinate unless scarified. Seed coat scarification may occur naturally by the high temperatures associated with fire, mechanically by soil disturbances, such as those associated with logging activities, or chemically [3,29]. Mariposa manzanita seeds are produced almost every year; in some years seed production is heavier than in others. Animals are the primary mode of seed dispersal [5].

Vegetative: Mariposa manzanita probably has the ability to regenerate vegetatively by layering, as most species of manzanita have this ability. Mariposa manzanita does not sprout from belowground tissue because it lacks a basal burl [35].

Mariposa manzanita is typically found on dry, well-drained, sunny sites [35]. It occurs on open hillsides and along the margins of oak and conifer woodlands [30].

Soil: Mariposa manzanita is tolerant of a wide variety of soils but typically occurs on those that are dry and well drained. In California, Mariposa manzanita has been found on soils in the Josephine, Hugo, and Sobrante series [9].

Climate: Mariposa manzanita commonly occurs in a Mediterranean climate type characterized by warm, dry summers and rainy winters [27].

Elevation: Mariposa manzanita occurs in the foothills and montane regions of the Sierra Nevada and the northern Coast Ranges of California at elevations ranging from 250 to 6,500 feet (76-1,981 m) [18,23,28]. Specific elevational ranges by location follow:

North Coast Ranges 3,000 to 6,000 feet (914-1829 m)
inner North Coast Ranges 250 to 4,000 feet (76-1219 m)
northern Sierra Nevada 2,000 to 4,000 feet (610-1219 m)
southern Sierra Nevada 3,000 to 6,500 feet (914-1981 m)

Mariposa manzanita-dominated communities have been variously referred to as climax, pyric climax, and transitional vegetation [16,29].

Mariposa manzanita displays characteristics common to shade intolerant pioneer species. It is often first plant to establish after fire on open sites with residual seed stock in the soil. Emerging seedlings died as a result of competition from herbaceous vegetation at a California location [5].

Mariposa manzanita typically flowers from February to April over most of its range [23,28] but blooms as early as Christmas in some locations [7]. The fruits appear in early summer, ripen in the fall, and usually persist year-round [23,28]. Most chaparral species experience the greatest amount of growth in May and June. Growth ceases in mid-July because of high air temperatures and low soil moisture [19].

Mariposa manzanita establishes from fire-stimulated germination of dormant seeds stored in the soil [5,20,27].

Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)

Fire effects vary with season, severity, and intensity of burn and range from partial destruction to complete destruction of the aboveground crown. Residual seeds may be scarified and germinate, or they may be killed [13,27]. The seeds can survive soil temperatures in excess of 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 ^oC) and still germinate [27].

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Fire stimulates Mariposa manzanita seeds stored in the soil to germinate [5,13,27]. These seeds germinate during postfire year 1, but it may be 10 or more years before seedlings produce seed [5,20].

Biswell [5] reported that Mariposa manzanita seedlings were far more numerous on burned brush plots with no herbaceous cover than on any other plots.

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Frequent burning of Parry manzanita would prevent seedlings from maturing and reaching seed-bearing age and would gradually reduce the available residual seed stock in the soil. Repeated burning until no seeds remained in the soil would eradicate the shrub from a site [5].

Heavy ash accumulations in the soil resulting from fire may be toxic. This ash may be detrimental to both seed germination and seedling establishment [27].