Back to main Search Page

Arctostaphylos tomentosa - (Pursh.)Lindl.

Downy Manzanita

Author	(Pursh.)Lindl.	Botanical references	11, 71, 200
Family	Ericaceae	Genus	Arctostaphylos
Synonyms	Arbutus tomentosa - Pursh.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	South-western N. America - California.
Habitat	Sandy places[71] on the edge of Pinus radiata forests and on windy coastal bluffs below 150 metres[166].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Shrub growing to 1.5m.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit; Seed.

Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 92, 105, 161]. Sweet, dry and mealy[61]. An important food for native tribes, it can also be dried for winter use[177]. When dried and baked into a bread it is relished by the native Indian tribes[2]. If harvested when not quite ripe, it can be used like a tart apple[2]. A cooling sub-acid drink can be made from the fruit[2, 257]. The fruit is about 8 - 10mm in diameter[200]. Seed - ground into a powder and used to make mush, biscuits etc[92, 257]. The seed is very small and would be difficult to separate from the fruit. It would be easier to dry the whole fruit, grind this into a powder and use it in soups etc[K].

Medicinal Uses

Antiseptic; Appetizer; Astringent; Diuretic; Stomachic.

The dried leaves are used in the treatment of a variety of complaints[4]. These leaves should be harvested in early autumn, only green leaves being selected, and then dried in gentle heat[4]. A tea made from the dried leaves is strongly astringent, diuretic and an antiseptic for the urinary tract[4, 222]. It is much used for kidney and bladder complaints and inflammation of the urinary tract, but it should be used with caution[4, 21, 46, 172] because it contains arbutin which hydrolyzes into the toxic urinary antiseptic hydroquinone[222]. An infusion of the bark powder has been used in the treatment of lung haemorrhages[257]. A cider made from the fruit has been used as an appetizer to create appetite and treat stomach complaints[257]. Although the report does not specify, the cider was probably unfermented[K].

Other Uses

Dye; Wood.

A yellowish-brown dye is obtained from the leaves, it does not require a mordant[168]. The wood is used for making fine furniture[61].

Cultivation details

Requires a deep moist well-drained light or medium lime-free loam[11, 166, 200] in sun or semi-shade but plants produce less fruit when they are grown in the shade[200]. Tolerates maritime exposure. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[200]. Very closely related to A. columbiana but with a more southerly range[11]. Plants can regenerate after a forest fire from a mallee-like base[166]. Plants resent root disturbance and should be placed in their final positions as soon as possible[11, 134].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Pre-soak dried seed in boiling water for 10 - 20 seconds or burn some straw on top of them and then stratify at 2 - 5°c for 2 months[11, 200]. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 months at 15°c[134]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer. Cuttings of side shoots of the current season's growth, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August to December in a frame. The cuttings are very slow and can take a year to root[1, 78]. Division in early spring. Take care because the plant resents root disturbance. Pot the divisions up and keep them in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are growing away actively. Layering in spring[200].

Links

Permaculture.info Details of this plant in the Permaculture.info project, a community plant and permaculture database.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[92] Balls. E. K. Early Uses of Californian Plants. University of California Press 1975 ISBN 0-520-00072-2
A nice readable book.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. 0
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).