Succulents and More™

In far Northern California where my parents-in-law live, manzanitas (genus Arctostaphylos ) are among the most widespread native shrubs. According to Wikipedia, manzanitas (approximately 60 different species) are found from British Columbia, Canada all the way down to northern and central Mexico. There are ground-hugging species barely a foot tall to small trees 6 ft. or more in height. All except one species are evergreen, and they share small urn-shaped flowers in shades or white and pink, and fruit that look like tiny apples (“manzanita” means “small apple” in Spanish). Greenleaf manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ) flower Photo source: Wikimedia Commons Greenleaf manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ) fruit Photo source: © 2009 Keir Morse, Encyclopedia of Life The dominant manzanita species in Mount Shasta is greenleaf manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ). It is native to the coniferous forests of the Western U.S. and grows at moderate to high elevations (the town of Mo...