MANZANITA (Arcfostdphylos Manzanita, Parry). Flowers 

 white or pinkish, urn-shaped, in short, crowded racemes. 

 Leaves pale green, thick, often vertical by the twisting of the 

 footstalk. A variable shrub or small tree, 3 to 25 feet high, 

 frequent in the chaparral belt of the California Mountains, 

 blooming sometimes in midwinter but usually from February 

 to April, the blossoms "like little classic vases cut in alabaster," 

 to quote the happy simile of Mr. J. S. Chase in "Yosemite 

 Trails." 



The Maazanita is of striking appearance because of its very 

 crooked, hard, polished branches from which the thin, choco- 

 late-red bark peels in shreds and patches. The name is Span- 

 ish for "little apple," and well describes the rosy little berries 

 which abound upon the bushes in summer. When green these 

 berries are rather tart arid chewed in the mouth are a relief 

 from thirst, but the pulp had best not be swallowed. When 

 mature they are dry and mealy, and Indians have found them 

 nutritious, both cooked and raw, though too free consumption 

 induces serious intestinal stoppage. A capital cider may also 

 be made from them, and white mountaineers prize them for 

 jelly making. 



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