BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Arctostaphylos pungens | Pointleaf Manzanita 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Pointleaf manzanita is a short-lived, native evergreen shrub
approximately of 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 3 m) in height.  Leaves are bright
green, 1 inch long and 0.5 inch wide (3 x 1.5 cm); the bark is red-brown
and smooth.  Generally erect or ascending, the plant branches from the
base to form thickets [5,12,13,32].  Decumbent branches often form
roots, and may or may not break away from the mother plant [4,32].
Pointleaf manzanita does not form a basal burl [5,19].

The root system is shallow and fibrous; however, taproots are
well-developed in sandy soil.  While roots greater than 0.5 inch (1 cm)
in diameter have been found in soil up to 20 inches (50 cm) deep, 65
percent of the root system exists in the top 8 inches (20 cm) of soil
[16,31].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
In the absence of fire, pointleaf manzanita has grown to 20 feet in
diameter at an estimated age of 50 years.  Significant increases in size
are the result of layering rather than sprouting.  Lower branches lying
on the ground take root and may break from the mother plant, resulting
in a "fairyring" type of growth [22,24].  As the plant ages, it becomes
unproductive; the central portion progressively dies while the periphery
remains vigorous [22].

Seed germination occurs immediately after heat scarification by fire,
allowing rapid revegetation in burned areas [3,4].  

Pointleaf manzanita can by propagated by seeds sown in the fall in
well-drained soil.  Germination may be hastened by soaking seeds for 2
to 3 hours in sulfuric acid prior to planting.  Germination averages 35
percent [32].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Pointleaf manzanita is found on dry, rocky slopes and mesas at
elevations of 3,000 to 8,000 feet (900-2,400 m) throughout its range
[12,13,19,32].  Upper limits of chaparral areas (7,000 ft) often border
ponderosa pine associations, and pointleaf manzanita is commonly found
in this transitional zone.  Characteristically, chaparral is dry and
warm; however, pointleaf manzanita may dominate relatively moist sites
at higher elevations. Most precipitation in chaparral vegetational zones
areas occurs as rain, with thunderstorms in summer and occasional
snowfall at high elevations in winter; spring drought is common.  Mean
monthly precipitation varies from 0.39 inch (1 cm) in May to 3.7 inches
(8 cm) in August and December.  Temperatures vary from 41 degrees F (5
degrees C) in January to 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) in July.

Soils in chaparral tend to be poorly developed, unstable, and coarse
[22].  While chaparral occurs on a variety of parent rock material,
pointleaf manzanita is known to grow on soils of granite and quartzite
origins [3].  The ponderosa pine/pointleaf manzanita community type
occurs on several different soil series and on gentle to steep slopes in
northern Arizona [11].  Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.) are
characteristic in chihuahua pine/Arizona white oak (Pinus
chihuahuana/Quercus arizonica) habitat types south of the Mogollon Rim
in Arizona and New Mexico, where soils are lithic [6].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Pointleaf manzanita forms climax and seral chaparral communities in
Arizona [3,22].  Seral communities may develop on ridges and steep
slopes where higher temperatures and poor soils restrict pringle
manzanita (A. pringlei) [22].  Hanks and others [11] described the
ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)/pointleaf manzanita community as late
seral and/or a climax, but stated that successional status assessment of
forest/chaparral types is difficult and arbitrary.  Alexander and Ronco
[1] list pointleaf manzanita as an indicator of climax pine (Pinus spp.)
habitat types which burn frequently.  On some sites, live oak (Quercus
spp.) associations may replace pointleaf manzanita associations in the
absence of fire [3,27].  Pointleaf manzanita seeds successfully
germinate after fire, and plants live long enough to remain a component
of communities throughout successional stages.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Little is known about the phenology of pointleaf manzanita.  Flowering
generally occurs from January to March or April [4,19,25,32] with the
fruit maturing from April to July [29,31,32].

Related categories for Species: Arctostaphylos pungens | Pointleaf Manzanita