VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Arctostaphylos viscida | Whiteleaf Manzanita 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Whiteleaf manzanita is useless as livestock browse but is a valuable
source of food for wildlife.  Various chaparral animals including black
bear, coyote, dusky-footed woodrat, and brush rabbit eat manzanita
fruits.  Birds such as Merriam's turkey, dusky grouse, and band-tailed
pigeon also consume the fruits [45].  Black-tailed deer sometimes browse
older leaves in the winter, but they prefer sprouts or seedlings [5].


PALATABILITY : 
The palatability of whiteleaf manzanita leaves is rated as poor for
goats, sheep, cattle, and black-tailed deer [43].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Whiteleaf manzanita provides poor quality browse [43,45].  The protein
content of manzanita leaves ranges from 6 percent in December and
January, when deer are most likely to consume them, to 8 percent in
August and September.  Black-tailed deer need a minimum of 7 percent
protein in their diet for normal maintenance [6].  


COVER VALUE : 
Whiteleaf manzanita often forms dense stands that provide good cover and
nesting sites for small birds and mammals [44].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The fruits of whiteleaf manzanita can be used to make jelly [2].  Native
Americans used the fruits to make cider [13].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Timber:  Whiteleaf manzanita allelopathically inhibits growth of conifer
seedlings [1,30,34].  Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) production can
be increased, however, if planted in cleared whiteleaf manzanita
brushfields.  Some of the fungi (Azospirillum spp.) which form
ectomycorrhizal associations with whiteleaf manzanita will infect
Douglas-fir roots once whiteleaf manzanita hosts are removed.
Douglas-fir seedling survival rates have increased by 50 percent when
planted in cleared whiteleaf manzanita brushfields, as opposed to other
types of chaparral brushfields. [1].

Control:  Whiteleaf manzanita can be controlled by aerial applications
of 2,4-D, glyphosate, or picloram in May or June [8,32].  It can also be
controlled by prescribed burning (see Fire Management Considerations).

Related categories for Species: Arctostaphylos viscida | Whiteleaf Manzanita