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Valley Manzanita

This time you are just going to have to go with me on this, or you can research it more if you like, because I don't know any of the newcomer things about this plant, and I have seen it misidentified as Mesquite, and Madrona. So, I'm going to go with my families names for this plant.

We have two kinds of manzanita around here. There is what the old-timers called "Valley Manzanita" and "Mountain manzanita". The valley Manzanita grows mostly on sunny hillsides, and the Mountain Manzanita grows mostly on ridge tops. I guess that was how they were named by the old-timers. I understand that there are many varieties of manzanita but I've only seen the two.

Valley Manzanita has deep green leaves, and when it blooms the blossoms are pink, the bark near the branch ends is smooth. The Mountain Manzanita has grey/green leaves the blossoms are white, and the branch ends are hairy. It is sometimes called "Grey Manzanita" or "Hairy manzanita".

Now that you know that we have two manzanitas the rest of the features are the same. It is an extremely hard wood and the roots sometimes have a great burl. The bark is rich red/maroon and peels off in the summer and it makes a flavorful tea. The bush is low in tannins and makes good non-toxic bird perches. The berries that grow on the bush can be dried and ground into flour. But don't eat too much of it because it doesn't pass well, and can leave you quite constipated. Eat it with other things, like acorn muffins and wild strawberries.

The manzanita was one of the most important plants to the north coast old-timers, it was the only plant that we have that burns as hot as it does. It burns even hotter than Madrone. It was used in the forges that were used by the blacksmiths that lived here in the early days. It saved them many hours of heating iron to shoe horses. Most of the gate hinges and latches on my grandmothers ranch in Laytonville were forged in my grandfathers old hand crank forge fired with manzanita. It was seldom used as firewood because it burned to hot, and would burn the grates right out of a stove.

One of the things that the old-timers said about manzanita is that the seeds will only spout after being cracked open by a fire or eaten by a bear. I guess that's what you'd call "hard to get".

The Blossoms of both plants are very sweet with nectar, I often will eat a handful of blossoms, it brings back sweet memories. Often I have to find a plant that isn't infested with ants that are also after the nectar. Eat your heart out Eule Gibbons.

The next time that you are out for a drive and see a manzanita bush, stop and impress your children with your knowledge of nature. Just walk up to the bush and pull down a branch end and look at it. If it has hairs on it, it is a Mountain Manzanita. If it is smooth, it is a Valley Manzanita.

Then tell them why this was an important plant to Ernie's Grandparents.