34 " Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers 



low trailing or spreading over the ground, with its flowers or fruits 

 in little clusters. This species is found in the high mountains of 

 Northern California and across the continent and in Europe. 



When speaking of Manzanita, we may be speaking of one or 

 several varieties, but all have the generic name of Arctostaphylos ; 

 the shrubs are extremely variable and even botanists find it difficult 

 to discriminate between certain of the species. A number of the 

 scientists divide the genus into innumerable species, while others 

 name a few, but allow for much variation within the species. They 

 belong to the famous Heath Family, whose members are always of 

 extreme interest to nature lovers. ^This plant is a close relative of 

 the stately Madrona, the handsome Rhododendron, the lovely 

 Azalea, and the Huckleberry, also the singular Snow-Plant, and has 

 many other well-known relatives. 



A very beautiful variety of Manzanita found growing on Mt. 

 Tamalpais and near Santa Cruz, and reported from other localities, 

 has the most delicate little pink flowers, very like arbutus. 



Occasionally the Manzanita becomes almost a tree. There was 

 a famous Manzanita tree near St. Helena, in Napa County, which I 

 believe was the largest specimen known. It measured eleven and 

 one-half feet at the base of its trunk and was thirty-five feet high, 

 with proportionately wide-spreading branches. An interesting sketch 

 that made its appearance in "Garden and Forest" many years ago, 

 tells how this dignified patriarch once escaped the woodsman's axe. 

 A lover of trees was passing by as a woodsman raised his axe to 

 fell the tree. He begged the man to spare its life, giving him a 

 small sum of money to bind the bargain. I have often wondered if 

 this venerable tree is still standing. A few years ago it was still 

 holding high carnival with the bees and the birds in season and out 

 of season. For, aside from its honey flowers and nutritious fruit, 

 it furnished good nesting places and provided shelter for the flitting 

 visitors of that region. 



Of the species more widely distributed in California, probably 

 Arctostaphylos manzaniia Parry is better known, as this is the true 

 Manzanita or "little apple" of the Spanish-speaking people. In 

 mountain regions a clear amber jelly of delicious taste is made from 

 its fruit. 



The fruit of the Big-Berried Manzanita is much larger. Its 

 berries often exceed three-quarters of an inch across, and instead of 

 the usual seeds, it has a stone half an inch in diameter. But this 

 species is rare and of somewhat local occurrence. It has been re- 

 ported as occurring in the Mt. Diablo Range and other localities 

 from Monterey south to Los Angeles. 



Probably the most widely distributed species, more common in 

 the chaparral districts of all our mountains, is A. tomentosa Doug- 

 las. In the mountains of Northern California, hogs consume great 

 quantities of the fruit and are said to fatten on them. Many people 

 in the foothills make an excellent vinegar from crushed Manzanita 

 berries. An infusion prepared from its leaves is the basis of an 

 official drug used in catarrhal troubles. Its leaves boiled in hot 

 water furnish a decoction used by others for relief from Poison 



