HEATH FAMILY 45 



acute, roimded at base, {% or) 1 to II/2 (or 2) inches long ; panicles loose ; pedicels 

 4 to 6 lines long, with short spreading glandular hairs ; bracts small, ovate-lance- 

 olate, acuminate ; calyx-lobes reflexed over summit of pedicels ; corolla light pink ; 

 ovary glabrous ; beri'ies deep i-ed, globose, 3 to 4 lines broad, the surface very glan- 

 dular, cohering in sticky masses when gathered, or often non-glandular ; nutlets 

 distinct or 2 or 3 united, ridged on back. 



Dry rocky or clay slopes, 500 to 4400 feet : Sierra Nevada foothills in Tulare 

 Co. and from Amador Co. to Tehama Co. ; extending around the head of the Sacra- 

 mento Valley into the inner North Coast Range and as far south as the Napa Range 

 (east slope or easterly ridges) . Feb.-Apr. 



Field note. — Arctostaphylos viseida is remarkable for its glaucous branchlets and peduncles, 

 and white foliage. In the Sierra Nevada it forms a broad band in the upper portion of the chapar- 

 ral belt, where it is usually the only manzanita and often develops colonies with a closed cover. 

 Throughout most of its range it is commonly a marked dominant in its area. On Tule River, for 

 example, it is represented by a rather distinct band in the upper portion of the chaparral belt, 

 but also occurs in the lower part as scattered individuals. In the central and northern Sierra 

 Nevada it likewise forms extensive brush fields, the individuals mostly 4 to 5 feet high. Fre- 

 quently the stand is of greater height. One mile north of LouisvUle, Eldorado County, a west 

 hillslope exhibits a nearly pure closed formation 8 to 12 feet high, or 14 feet high at the top of 

 the hill. Such a stand at this altitude (2100 feet) furnishes a nurse cover for Pinus ponderosa. 



Occasional individuals may become sub-arboreus in size. Near Louisville one individual meas- 

 ured 14 feet in height with a trunk 10% inches in diameter at 6 inches above the ground, the trunk 

 nearly 1 foot high before branching. Shrubs which branch freely at the ground may become 1 to 

 3 feet in trunk diameter at the ground. 



In the prevailing form the berries are very viscid-glandular, but in a given locality shrubs 

 with non-viscid berries may be dominant. Commonly this species bears heavy crops of berries. 

 Since Arctostaphylos viseida is killed outright by chaparral fires, this fact of fertility in seed 

 production has relation to its character as a fire-type shrub. Seedlings on burns often appear in 

 vast numbers. 



Loes. — Sierra Nevada foothills : Middle Tule River betw. Springville and Nelson, Jepson 

 4861; North Fork Tule River, opp. Battle Mt., Jepson 4702; Buena Vista, Amador Co., Jepson 

 9958; Placerville, Jepson 18,607; Kelsey, Eldorado Co., Jepson 18,623a; Georgetown, Eldorado 

 Co., Margaret A. Kelley ; Rough and Ready, Nevada Co., Jepson 14,727; Oroville; Old Cow Creek, 

 near Whitmore, Shasta Co., Jepson 10,667. North Coast Ranges: Oro Fino, Siskiyou Co., Butler 

 659; Delta, Shasta Co., Jepson 6178; Greasewood Hills, w. Tehama Co., Jepson 14,726; betw. In- 

 dian and Bear valleys, ne. Lake Co., Jepson 8977; Knoxville Ridge, Jepson 9047; Siegler Sprs., 

 cent. Lake Co., Blanlcinship ; Cobb Mt., Tracy 14,009; Moore Creek, Howell Mt., Napa Range 

 (e. side), Jepson 6826; Chiles Creek near Chiles Mill, Napa Range, Jepson 9067. 



Refs.^ARCTOSTAPHYLOs visciDA Parry, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2:492 (1887), type loc. lone, Ama- 

 dor Co., Parry; Jepson, Man. 746 (1925). Vva-ursi viseida Abrams, N. Am. Fl. 29:99 (1914). 



17. A. mariposa Dudley. Mariposa Manzanita. Spreading shrub, 4 to 8 (or 

 21) feet high ; branchlets and inflorescence glandular-pubescent or puberulent, the 

 hairs mostly spreading; leaves very white-giaucous, glabrous or nearly so, very 

 rigid, their blades oval to elliptic, shortly acute or at least mucronulate, 1 to 2 inches 

 long; panicle many-flowered, small, compact; pedicels with glandular hairs; ovary 

 glandular-hairy; berry bright red, glandular-viscid, sometimes covered with mi- 

 nute stipitate glands, 3 to 4 lines broad ; nutlets distinct or 2 or 3 united, roughish 

 and usually ridged both doi-sally and laterally. 



Arid hill slopes, 1500 to 4900 (or 6000) feet : Sierra Nevada, in the higher foot- 

 hills, from Amador Co. to Kern Co. Mar.-June. 



Field note. — The differences between Arctostaphylos mariposa and A. viseida are mainly 

 those of glandulosity and the distribution of glands. For this reason A. mariposa seems a 

 weak or unallowable species. On account of variability in the glandular character it is sometimes 

 difficult to differentiate the two species where they meet. The berries in Arctostaphylos mariposa 

 ripen a dull ivory white and change to a deep honey color with a reddish tinge. The new leaves 

 of young shoots are green and form a marked contrast to the older white leaves. The inflorescence 

 is very viscous-hairy. The embryonic panicles in Arctostaphylos mariposa and in A. viseida are 

 similar and consist usually of 2 or 3 rather closely approximate branches. These branches are 

 somewhat more slender in A. viseida than in A. mariposa. Like Arctostaphylos viseida, A. mari- 

 posa does not sprout from the root-crow-n after the shrub is fire-killed. Similarly its seedlings 

 very promptly restock fire burns. 



