mission manzanita
Xylococcus bicolor
Its scientific name Xylococcus bicolor translates to 'double-colored wood-berry', referencing its leaves which are dark green on top and fuzzy white underneath.
- Scientific name
- Xylococcus bicolor
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ericales › Ericaceae › Xylococcus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and dry oak woodlands
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthetic, utilizing sunlight, water, and soil nutrients)
- Range
- Southern California, USA, Baja California, Mexico
- Size
- 1.5 to 5 meters (5 to 16 feet) tall
- Lifespan
- 50 to 100+ years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation due to urban development, altered wildfire regimes, and invasive weed encroachment.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely approach and touch this plant. Respect the fragile chaparral habitat by staying on designated trails. Its dry, woody branches are highly flammable, so keep campfires and sparks far away.
Xylococcus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the heath family which contains the single species Xylococcus bicolor , the mission manzanita .
Photo: John Rusk, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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