[Arctostaphylos pungens Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth var. foliis-oblongo-ellipticus Martens & Galeotti, Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 9: 532.  1842. Based on:  Mexico. Veracruz: Las Vigas, nr. Xalapa, 2135 m, Galeotti 1796 (K).  The name was not validly published since it was not accompanied by a description or diagnosis (Article 32.1, Voss et al., 1983).]

[Arctostaphylos pungens Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth var. foliis-ovalibus Martens & Galeotti, Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 9: 536. 1842.  Based on:  Mexico. Oaxaca: Cordillera Oriental, 1830-2900 m, 184[0] (bud), Galeotti 1804 (F, MO, NY, P).  Specimens of Galeotti 1804 are at F, MO, NY, and P.  Sheets numbered 1804 seem to have been collected at different times and places.  The name was not validly published since it was not accompanied by a description or diagnosis (Article 32.1, Voss et al., 1983).]

Arbutus mucronata Sesse & Mocino, Flora mexicana (ed. 1) p. 121.  1894[?].  Type.  A specimen of Arctostaphylos pungens labeled Arbutus mucronata exists at F and might serve as the lectotype.  However, lectotypification is deferred because of uncertainity over the existence of specimens at M or elsewhere.  Icone 345, referred to in the description, is clearly conspecific with Arctostaphylos pungens. According to McVaugh (1977), p. 121 (from p. 49 on) of the first edition (Sesse & Mocino, 1891-1897) was published after the second (Sesse & Mocino, 1894).  If this is the case, the citation for Arbutus mucronata should be Flora Mexicana (ed. 2) p. 111.  1894.

[Arbutus ferruginea Sesse & Mocino, Plantae novae hispaniae (ed. 1), p. 71. 1888 nom. illeg. not Linnaeus f. (Supplementum plantarum, 1781).]

     Erect to spreading or mounding, rarely prostrate (MacDougall s.n., Oaxaca, NY) terrestrial shrubs (-small trees), often as broad as tall, usually branched from near base, sprouting after fire but without basal burl, to 4(-5) m tall and to 30 cm diam., wood dense;  branches stiff, often twisted or tortuously arranged, giving the appearance of a tangle or thicket of branches or dense twiggy growth, lower branches often bare;  mature stems subterete, sometimes with an undulating surface;  bark reddish to purplish-brown or maroon, often smooth to exfoliating, flaking or peeling in strips, outer bark thin and papery, surface below quite smooth;  younger branches often with pronounced peeling and flaking, color as on mature stems;  twigs tomentulose to canescent or cinereous by white to grayish, non-glandular trichomes.  Leaves vertically oriented, coriaceous rather rigid, ovate to lanceolate to elliptic or more rarely obovate to oblanceolate, 15-40(-42) x to 16 mm, basally cuneate to obtuse, apically acute to obtuse, the tips mucronate-pungent, margin entire, sometimes ciliate, particularly when young, adaxial and abaxial surfaces essentially identical with stomates on both surfaces, tomentulose to cinereous or canescent when young, with indumentum persistent to nearly glabrate at maturity;  petioles angled, typically channeled or concave abaxially, to 5(-8) mm long, with trichomes as on young twigs, indumentum usually persistent or nearly glabrate with age.  Inflorescences small, dense, simple or with 1(-2) short branches, ca. 10-15 flowers per inflorescence, 15-27 mm long, rachis and floral bracts with indumentum as on young twigs and petioles;  floral bracts broadly triangular, narrowing distally, navicular, 2.5-4 mm long;  pedicels 4-6 x ca. 0.8 mm, glabrous, light to pink to red at anthesis;  bracteoles navicular 2-2.3 mm long, sparsely tomentulose. Flowers: calyx lobes broadly ovately-triangular to nearly rounded, obtuse, 1.5-2.1 x 1.5-2.2 mm, glabrous, sometimes ciliate, nearly white to pink or dark red, sometimes pink at pedicel fading to white-pink distally;  corolla urceolate, the throat constricted then flaring to 5 obtuse recurved lobes, 4.5-8 x 4-6(-7) mm, glabrous, white to pink, the base sometimes pink grading to white distally or pinkish when young fading to white at anthesis, the lobes to ca. 1 x 1.1-1.5 mm;  stamens (8-)10, to 3.7 mm long;  filaments 2.4-3.5 mm long, dilated basally, to ca. 1 mm wide at base, villous, the trichomes to nearly 1 mm long;  anthers 1.1-1.5 x 0.7-1 mm, spurs to 2 mm long, terminal pores or slits to ca. 0.7 mm long, reddish-purple;  pollen grains ca. 44-51 um diam. (LM);  ovary smooth, glabrous;  style 3.3-4.4 x ca. 0.7 mm, glabrous;  stigma very weakly lobed, sometimes greenish;  nectariferous disk 10-lobed or ribbed.  Fruit drupaceous, depressed globose, 5-11 mm diam., smooth glabrous, varying through yellow, orange, reddish or tan-brown to brown at maturity, edible with sweet apple-like taste;  nutlets (4-)5(-6-10), separable or irregularly united, carinate, corrugately roughened;  chromosome number 2n=26 for var. pungens Callan, 1941) and n=13 (Niehaus & Wong, 1971);  2n=52 for var. montana (Eastwood) Munz (Stebbins & Major, 1965) from California.

     Distribution.  Arctostaphylos pungens is the second most widespread member of the genus (after A. uva-ursi) occurring from California and the Baja Peninsula to Utah, Arizona and W Texas and south throughout Mexico to Verzcruz and Oaxaca.  The species occurs in a variety of vegetation types ranging from chaparral, matorral xerofilo (Rzedowski, 1978) and scrub oak forests to dry to humid oak, pine, or oak-pine-madrone forests and even high elevation fir forests.  See Diggs (1995) for additional informationabout ecology.  Flowering and fruiting throughout the year, but most commonly Jun-Aug and Jun-Nov, respectively.
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