Arctostaphylos gabilanensis
Encyclopedia
Arctostaphylos gabilanensis is a rare species of manzanita
known by the common name Gabilan manzanita. It is endemic to California
, where it is known only from two disjunct
populations in the Gabilan Range
on the border between Monterey
and San Benito Counties
. It was described to science in 2004 from the type specimen collected near Fremont Peak
in 2002. The plant can be found in chaparral
habitat. The plant is considered vulnerable because it is rare, with one population containing about 30 individuals and the other spanning about 1000 hectare
s but widely spaced.
This is an erect shrub
reaching a bushlike one meter to a treelike five meters in height. It is coated in medium or dark red bark, the small twigs with fuzzy hairs. The waxy gray-green leaves are up to 3.5 centimeters long by 2.4 wide. The blades are oval and auriculate (with an earlobe
-shaped lobe on either side of the petiole
). The inflorescence
is a panicle
of white or pink conical or urn
-shaped flowers each 6 to 8 centimeters long. The fruit is a spherical reddish-brown drupe
1 to 1.5 centimeters wide.
Arctostaphylos
Arctostaphylos is a genus of plants comprised by the manzanitas and bearberries. They are shrubs or small trees.There are about 60 species of Arctostaphylos, ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain species to small trees up to 6 m tall. Most are evergreen , with small oval...
known by the common name Gabilan manzanita. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known only from two disjunct
Disjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
populations in the Gabilan Range
Gabilan Range
The Gabilan Range or Gabilan Mountains are located on the Pacific Coast Range of California's Central Coast trending in a northwest-southeast direction along the Monterey County and San Benito County line. It is bordered by the Diablo Range, the San Andreas Fault, and State Route 25 to the east and...
on the border between Monterey
Monterey County, California
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
and San Benito Counties
San Benito County, California
San Benito County is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of San Jose. As of 2010 the population was 55,269. The county seat is Hollister, which includes nearly two-thirds of the county's population. El Camino Real passes through the county and...
. It was described to science in 2004 from the type specimen collected near Fremont Peak
Fremont Peak (California)
Fremont Peak is a summit in the Gabilan Range, one of the mountain ranges paralleling California's central coast. The peak affords clear views of the Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay. It is located on Rocky Ridge, northeast of Salinas, California....
in 2002. The plant can be found in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
habitat. The plant is considered vulnerable because it is rare, with one population containing about 30 individuals and the other spanning about 1000 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s but widely spaced.
This is an erect shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
reaching a bushlike one meter to a treelike five meters in height. It is coated in medium or dark red bark, the small twigs with fuzzy hairs. The waxy gray-green leaves are up to 3.5 centimeters long by 2.4 wide. The blades are oval and auriculate (with an earlobe
Earlobe
The human earlobe is composed of tough areolar and adipose connective tissues, lacking the firmness and elasticity of the rest of the pinna. Since the earlobe does not contain cartilage it has a large blood supply and may help to warm the ears and maintain balance. However earlobes are not...
-shaped lobe on either side of the petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
). The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of white or pink conical or urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
-shaped flowers each 6 to 8 centimeters long. The fruit is a spherical reddish-brown drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
1 to 1.5 centimeters wide.