Shrub – Bigberry Manzanita
State Shrub
Bigberry Manzanita
Arctostaphylos glauca
The bigberry manzanita is a large evergreen shrub with dark reddish-brown bark and pale blue-green leaves.
Native to California, this shrub produces bright red berries up to half an inch in diameter – the largest edible fruit of any manzanita. The berries are a popular food source for ground mammals and other wildlife. In late winter to early spring, bunches of bell-shaped white-to-pink flowers decorate the bigberry manzanita’s winding branches, attracting pollinators such as insects and hummingbirds.
The broad-reaching roots of bigberry manzanita are especially well-adapted for resisting soil erosion and preventing landslides in areas affected by wildfire. Additionally, the seeds of bigberry manzanitas, like other manzanitas, naturally germinate after exposure to fire. These traits not only demonstrate the hardiness of the bigberry manzanita, but also the resiliency of California’s ecosystem at large.
