Characteristics Of Five San Gabriel Mountains Species Of Arctostaphylos: Inflorescences, Bracts, Flowers, and Fruits
Inflorescence Species form number of branches rachis [stem] surface rachis-branches length [nascent stage] gabrielensis ample, crowded at tips of axes 4-7 white-hairy 5-20 mm, crowded glandulosa spp. glaucomollis crowded at tips of axes 3-6 white-hairy 20-30 mm, +/- crowded glauca dense, nodding (open) 4-8 glabrous to glandular 20-30 mm, spreading parryana dense, few-flowered 3-5 puberulent 5-15 mm, crowded patula open 4-8 golden, glistening, gland-tipped hairs 15-30 mm, spreading
Bracts Species length shape in general
excluding lower bractstip gabrielensis 3-5 mm deltoid; scale-like, keeled, folded marcescent [when withered not falling off], acuminate-subulate glandulosa spp. glaucomollis 3-5 mm not folded, not keeled; middle and many lower bracts reduced not given glauca 2-6 mm long, spreading, broadly ovate; scale-like; divaricate [spreading] exposing buds obtuse or subacute parryana 2-4 mm short, deltoid; scale-like, keeled acuminate-subulate, +/- appressed; closely imbricated patula 4-6 mm deltate; scale-like, keeled abruptly narrowed to long-acuminate, appressed-incurved
Lower Bracts Species length shape gabrielensis 10-15 mm lance-linear to lanceolate glandulosa spp. glaucomollis 6-15 mm lanceolate to lance-ovate glauca 1-15 mm broadly lanceolate parryana 5-10 mm linear-acuminate patula 10-20 mm narrowly lanceolate Notes on bracts:
- All local species have green bracts.
- All local species have foliaceous [leaf-like] lower bracts, A. glandulosa ssp glaucomollis being very foliaceous
Species Flowers Pedicels (flower stems, best checked on fruit) bloom time corolla color corolla length ovary surface length surface gabrielensis Apr-May pink 6.5 mm white-hairy 5-10 mm white-hairy glandulosa spp. glaucomollis Jan-Apr white 6-8 mm white-hairy, not glandular 4-8 mm, upper pedicels exceeding bracts white-hairy glauca Dec-March white, some pink 8-9 mm glandular 8-10 mm finely glandular-bristly parryana March-May white 6-8 mm glabrous 4-9 mm glabrous patula March-May mostly pink, some white 6.5 m glabrous 2-7 mm glabrous
Fruits Species width shape surface color seeds gabrielensis 8-14 mm subspheric sparsely puberulent not given fused in depressed onion-like stone; sharply pitted in rugose [wrinkled], reticulate [net-veined] pattern in intervals between ribs, sometimes deeply lobed, or partly separable glandulosa spp. glaucomollis 6-10 mm depressed globose hairy, smooth or finely glandular-bristly, sticky red brown +/- separable, ridged on back glauca 12-15 mm round or ovoid sticky; leathery, not mealy brownish fused, vertical seams; not pitted parryana 8-10 mm round (spheric) to ovoid, abruptly soft-pointed glabrous dark red fused, pitted in intervals between riblets patula 7-10 mm depressed spheric glabrous dark chestnut brown separable or partially fused
Other characteristics
Sources
- CalFlora database for Arctostaphylos in Los Angeles County
- James C. Hickman, Editor, The Jepson Manual, 1993
- Philip A. Munz, A Flora of Southern California, 1974
- Philip V. Wells, The Manzanitas of California: Also of Mexico and the World, c2000
Go to: Keys to Identifying Selected Plant Groups in the SGM
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Updated August 4, 2002.
