Woolly or Woollyleaf Manzanita, Downy Manzanita                ark-tow-STAF-i-los to-men-TO-sa

• Evergreen shrub, erect, to 8 ft (2.5 m) tall, dense spreading branches, burls present.  Bark reddish, shreddy, attractive.  Leaves alternate, simple, oblong-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2-5 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, leathery, often cupped, base cordate, margin smooth (entire) or occasionally toothed (as shown here), glossy dark or bright green above, woolly below due to dense pubescence (tomentose).  Flowers white or pink, in dense clusters, ovary generally densely white-tomentose.  Fruit more or less spherical, 6–10 mm wide, dimpled, brown and often hairy.
• Sun to partial shade.  Best in sandy or loamy acid soils that are moist but well-drained.  Does well in coastal conditions.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7.   Arctostaphylos tomentosa is a complex of as many as 9 subspecies.   Native to California, the Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, Outer South Coast Ranges, Channel Islands and Western Transverse Ranges.