Arctostaphylos cruzensis
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Arctostaphylos
Species:	A. cruzensis
Binomial name
Arctostaphylos cruzensis J.B.Roof

Arctostaphylos cruzensis is a species of manzanita known by the common names La Cruz manzanita and Arroyo de la Cruz manzanita.

This shrub is endemic to California, where it grows in the sand of the coastline in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties.

Description

Arctostaphylos cruzensis is a very petite manzanita which grows flat on the ground or shaped into a low mound. The stem is covered in red shreddy bark.

The small, pointed oval leaves are bright green and sometimes slightly toothed or with a fringe of hairs along the reddish edges.

The flowers are very pale pink and urn-shaped with tapered throats. The fruits are hairy drupes up to a centimeter in diameter and containing angular seeds.