Arctostaphylos osoensis
Encyclopedia
Arctostaphylos osoensis is a species of manzanita
known by the common name Oso manzanita. It is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California
, where it is known from only two occurrences on the northern edge of the Los Osos Valley
.
reaching at least a meter in height and known to grow over four meters tall. The bark is grayish in color and shreddy. The foliage is dense with shiny, pointed, smooth-edged or toothed green to reddish leaves each up to 3 centimeters long.
The inflorescence
is a loose bunch of urn-shaped manzanita flowers each about 6 millimeters long. The fruit is a hairless drupe
between 0.5 and one centimeter wide containing several rounded seeds.
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 Oso manzanita. It is endemic to 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 is known from only two occurrences on the northern edge of the Los Osos Valley
Los Osos Valley
Los Osos Valley is a landform along the coastal area of Central California south of the town of Morro Bay, California, USA. Prehistoric human habitation existed in the Los Osos Valley by the ancient Chumash tribe. An early European visit to the Los Osos Valley was recorded in 1769 by...
.
Description
This is a spreading shrubShrub
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 at least a meter in height and known to grow over four meters tall. The bark is grayish in color and shreddy. The foliage is dense with shiny, pointed, smooth-edged or toothed green to reddish leaves each up to 3 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 loose bunch of urn-shaped manzanita flowers each about 6 millimeters long. The fruit is a hairless 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...
between 0.5 and one centimeter wide containing several rounded seeds.