Arctostaphylos luciana
Encyclopedia
Arctostaphylos luciana is a species of manzanita
known by the common name Santa Lucia manzanita. It is endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains
of San Luis Obispo County, California
, where it grows in the chaparral
of the coastal mountain slopes. This is a large shrub
reaching over 2 meters tall and known to exceed five meters in height. Its leaves are waxy and woolly to smooth and hairless, with smooth edges. They are rounded to oval in shape and up to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a cluster of hairless, urn-shaped manzanita flowers. The fruit is a green-red to red drupe
up to 1.2 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 Santa Lucia manzanita. It is endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains
Santa Lucia Mountains
The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...
of San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
, where it grows in the 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...
of the coastal mountain slopes. This is a large 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 over 2 meters tall and known to exceed five meters in height. Its leaves are waxy and woolly to smooth and hairless, with smooth edges. They are rounded to oval in shape and up to 4 centimeters long. 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 cluster of hairless, urn-shaped manzanita flowers. The fruit is a green-red to red 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...
up to 1.2 centimeters wide.