About Arctostaphylos crustacea Eastw.
Arctostaphylos crustacea Eastw. is typically a shrub reaching up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) in height. It has smooth reddish bark, and ovate leaves that measure 2 to 5 centimeters (0.79 to 1.97 inches) long. Unlike many other manzanitas, this species has bifacial leaves, meaning stomata are almost entirely restricted to the lower surface of the leaves. Its flowers are urn-shaped, and they grow on multi-branched panicles. Fruits are depressed-globose drupes, which are shaped like squashed spheres, and they contain multiple distinct separate nutlets. Like some other species in the genus Arctostaphylos, this plant has a basal burl; if the above-ground portion of the shrub is killed by fire, the plant can resprout from this burl.
