Bailey & Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 189 



thickets in open woods or on moist hillsides. The scientific name, Menziena, 

 was given in honor of Archibald Menzies, one of the first botanists to visit 

 Northwestern America, and who first discovered this plant. It has been 

 called fool's huckleberry because the flowers and foliage closely resemble some 

 of the western huckleberries (whortleberries or blueberries). It may be dis- 

 tinguished from these, however, by the leaves which tend to be bunched at 

 the ends of the stems, by the long finely-hairy flower stems, and by the fruits 

 which are small woody capsules. The shrub is also sometimes called skunk- 

 bush because of a mephitic odor given off from the freshly crushed foliage. 

 It is reported to be poisonous to livestock when eaten in large quantities."* 1 

 (Syn. Menziesia glabella Gray) . 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC, 2,000 to 4,500 feet: Lake Crescent; Elwha River across 

 from mouth of Buckinghorse Creek; Lake Margaret near Low Divide; northeast side 

 ol' Anderson Pass. MOUNT RAINIER, abundant, 2,000 to 5,000 feet: Longmire; head of 

 Narada Falls; Lake George. GLACIER, abundant, 3,500 feet to timberline: Lake Mc- 

 Donald; Logging Mountain; Bowman Lake; Kintla Lake; St. Mary Lake; Red 

 Eagle Valley; Hudson Bay Creek trail; Cut Bank Valley; Two Medicine Valley; 

 Swiftcurrent Lake; all trails around Many Glacier region. YELLOWSTONE. GRAND 

 TETON, common, 6,500 to 8,300 feet: Cascade Canyon trail; Jenny Lake; Beaver Dick 

 Lake. 



Manzanita, Bearberry (Arctostaphylos Adans.) 



The manzanitas as a group are usually easily recognized because of the 

 characteristic smooth dark-red bark, the often crooked stems, the thick leathery 

 evergreen leaves, the waxy pink or white urn-shaped flowers, and the small 

 fruits resembling tiny apples. The generic name is derived from the Greek 

 arktos meaning bear, and staphule meaning bunch of grapes or berries. The 

 common name, manzanita, is Spanish for little apple. The fruits are im- 

 portant as food for many birds and small mammals. They are also eaten 

 by bears, hence the common name, bearberry. Indians of various regions ate 

 the berries raw or used them dried and ground into pinole. Although the 

 pulp is mealy and seedy, it has an agreeable acid flavor. 



In many localities manzanitas are among the first plants to appear in 

 burned-over areas. Some of the species are able to sprout from the root 

 crown and thus quickly revive after a fire. Others, although completely killed 

 by fire, are quick to become reestablished from seed after the hard outer shell 

 has been cracked by the heat. Whether or not the plants crown-sprout after 

 fire is frequently used as a character in determining the species. The foliage 

 is mostly worthless as browse for animals because of the tough thick leaves. 

 However, the young, tender shoots are sometimes eaten and a few of the 

 species are of some value as winter feed for deer and mountain bighorn sheep. 



Field Guide to the Species 

 Plants erect, 3 to 10 feet high. 



Branchlets and leaf-stems with long, while, spreading hairs; leaves hairy or 

 nearly smooth (sometimes glandular), grayish-green, I to 2 inches 

 long; plants of the parks of the Northwest \. A. Columbiana. 



41 Van Dersal, W. R., Native woody plants of the United States, p. 168. Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 1938. 



