Arctostaphylos franciscana

Arctostaphylos franciscana, known by the common name Franciscan manzanita, is a species of manzanita. It was named by Alice Eastwood and is native to the city of San Francisco.[1]

Franciscan manzanita
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Arctostaphylos
Species:
A. franciscana
Binomial name
Arctostaphylos franciscana
Synonyms
  • Arctostaphylos hookeri subsp. franciscana (Eastw.) Munz
  • Arctostaphylos uva-ursi var. franciscana (Eastw.) Roof
  • Uva-ursi franciscana (Eastw.) A.Heller

Taxonomy

Franciscan manzanita was formerly considered as a subspecies of Hooker's manzanita until elevated to full species rank following modern genetic analysis and comparisons.[2]

Conservation

It was thought to be extinct in the wild until one specimen was discovered in 2009.[3][4] Less than a month later, Caltrans transplanted this specimen to make way for the Doyle Drive Replacement Project.[5] The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Franciscan manzanita as an endangered species on October 5, 2012.[6][7] The National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are attempting to cross-pollinate the preserved specimen in order to reintroduce the subspecies in the wild.[8]

References
  1. Milius, Susan. "How passion, luck and sweat saved some of North America's rarest plants". ScienceNews. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  2. Parker, V. Thomas; Vasey, Michael C.; Keeley, Jon E. (2007). "TAXONOMIC REVISIONS IN THE GENUS ARCTOSTAPHYLOS (ERICACEAE)". MADRONO. 54, No. 2: 148–155. doi:10.3120/0024-9637.
  3. Ishimaru, H. Protected plant may delay Doyle Drive project. Archived 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine abcnews.com November 18, 2009.
  4. Fimrite, P. Manzanita bush's discovery excites scientists. San Francisco Chronicle December 26, 2009.
  5. Caltrans. Doyle Drive Transplanting Manzanita Bush. January 23, 2010.
  6. La Ganga, Maria. "Franciscan manzanita added to U.S. endangered list". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. "Species profile for Franciscan manzanita". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  8. Gribbon, Sadie (February 15, 2018). "Presidio's 'Loneliest plant in the world' meets its match". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
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