Arctostaphylos franciscana Eastw. (1905:201)
Franciscan manzanita, Laurel Hill manzanita
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonyms: Uva-ursi franciscana (Eastw.) A.Heller in Cat. N. Amer. Pl., ed. 3: 276 (1914); Arctostaphylos hookeri subsp. franciscana (Eastw.) Munz in Aliso 4: 95 (1958); Arctostaphylos uva-ursi var. franciscana (Eastw.) Roof in Changing Seasons 1(2): 21 (1980)
Conservation Status
Extinct in the Wild (Knapp et al., 2021; POWO, 2024; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025)
Last record: 1942 (Smith, 2018); 1968 (in the wild) (Smith & York, 1984:1; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025)
Rediscovered in: 2009 (Knapp et al., 2021)
Last wild record: January 2010 (Knapp et al., 2021)
Was listed as Extinct by (WCMC, 1992:218). A single wild plant was rediscovered in 2009 in the path of roadworks. It was successfully translocated in January 2010, rendering the plant extinct in the wild (Knapp et al., 2021).
Distribution & Habitat
San Francisco, California, USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Baldwin, B. B., Goldman, D. H., Keil, D. J., Patterson, R., Rosatti, T. and Wilken, D. (2012). The Jepson Manual, Vascular Plants of California second edition. Univ. California Press. 1568 pp
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2023). Uitgestorven. Op plantenjacht rond de wereld: 1-511. Sterck & De Vreese.
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2025). Plant extinction in the Anthropocene. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 207(3): 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boae045 [Appendix S1]
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). (2009). Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 8. Magnoliophyta: Paeoniaceae to Ericaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 585 pp.
Gluesenkamp, D., M. Chassé, M. Frey, V. T. Parker, M. C. Vasey, and B. Young. (2009). Back from the brink: A second chance at discovery and conservation of the Franciscan Manzanita. Fremontia 37(4): 3-17.
Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 529. MIM, Deurne.
Hickman, J. C. (1993). The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press. 1424 pp.
Kartesz, J. T. (1994). A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Knapp, Wesley M., Frances, Anne, Noss, Reed, Naczi, Robert F. C., Weakley, Alan, Gann, George D., Baldwin, Bruce G., Miller, James, McIntyre, Patrick, Mishler, Brent D., Moore, Gerry, Olmstead, Richard G., Strong, Anna, Kennedy, Kathryn, Heidel, Bonnie and Gluesenkamp, Daniel. (2021). Vascular plant extinction in the continental United States and Canada. Conservation Biology 35(1): 360-368. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13621 [Supporting Information (Appendix S1)]
Kruse-Pickler, David. (year?). San Francisco Manzanita: From Extinct to Endangered. NACA Appendix 2.
Mockler, Karen. (5 August, 2024). Hope Blooms: A Tale of Two Manzanitas. The Revelator. Available at: https://therevelator.org/manzanitas/ [Accessed 11 August 2024]
Munz, P. and Keck, D. (1963). A California Flora. University of California Press. 1681 pp.
NatureServe. (2026). Arctostaphylos franciscana: Franciscan Manzanita. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 21 August 2026]
Parker, V. T., Vasey, M. C. and Keeley, J. E. (2009). Arctostaphylos, pp. 406-445. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+, Flora of North America North of Mexico 8: 1-585. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
POWO. (2024). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 12 July 2024]
Smith, James Payne Jnr. (2018). California vascular plants: are some of them out there? Botanical Studies 74: 1-4? [4].
Smith, James Payne, Jnr. (ed.) and York, Richard (DEM). (1984). Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California. Special Publication No. 1 (3rd edition). Berkeley, California: California Native Plant Society. xviii + 174 pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). (2011). 12-Month petition finding and proposed Listing of Arctostaphylos franciscana as endangered. Federal Register 76(174): 55623-55638.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). (2012). Determination of endangered status for Arctostaphylos franciscana (Franciscan manzanita) throughout its range. Federal Register 77(172): 54434-54450.
US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). (2023). Five-Year Review for the Franciscan Manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana). US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento, California. 10 pp.
Walter, Kerry S. and Gillett, Harriet J. (eds.). (1998). 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. Compiled by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, UK: IUCN – The World Conservation Union. lxiv + 862 pp.
WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre). (1992). Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's living resources. London: Chapman & Hall. xx + 594 pp.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/presidios-loneliest-plant-world-meets-match/
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/san-francisco-manzanita-09-07-2011.html
https://vanishingflora.proboards.com/thread/2827/franciscan-manzanita