Erect to spreading or sprawling, often gnarled, evergreen shrubs to small trees, 0.2-4(-6) m tall, capable of stump-sprouting;  bark peeling or flaking in small pieces or exfoliating in irregular plates, gray to reddish-brown;  young twigs glabrous to tomentose to densely glandular hirsute, trichomes stalked, swollen-headed and glandular, or hyaline and eglandular.  Leaves coriaceous, linear to elliptic, oblanceolate or oblong, plane or strongly revolute, 2-7.6 x 0.3-1.9 cm, basally tapering to cuneate or rounded, apically obtuse to acute, marginally entire or rarely with serrations, upper surface glabrous or with slight pubescence, lower surface glabrous to tomentulose to tomentose, sometimes densely so, pubescence sometimes ferruginous, glandular trichomes sometimes also present, especially along the midrib;  petioles 2-7.5 mm long, with pubescence as on young twigs.  Inflorescences racemose, sometimes slustered, at times paniculate, 2.2-11 cm long;  rachis, pedicels, floral bracts, bracteoles and calyx puberulent, tomentulose, lightly canescent or glandular hirsute, trichomes glandular or eglandular;  floral bracts broadly lanceolate to ovate, navicular or carinate, acute to acuminate, 1.4-7.4 x to 2.6 mm, ciliate or not;  pedicels 3-11(-21) mm long;  bracteoles basal to subdistal, 1.6-2.9 mm long, ciliate or not.  Flowers:  calyx lobes narrowly triangular or ovate-triangular, 1.1-3.1 x 0.9-2.3 mm, acute to acuminate, ciliate or not;  corollas 4.9-8.2 x 3-6 mm, glabrous or with slight pubescence, white to pink, the lobes 0.9-1.7 x 1.1-2.2 mm wide;  stamens 2-3.7 mm long;  filaments 1.6-3.3 mm long, villous;  anthers 1-1.5 x 0.6-1 mm, the spurs 0.4-0.9 mm long;  ovary glabrous or with eglandular trichomes, sometimes densely villous;  style 2.8-5.4 mm long, glabrous or with eglandular trichomes.  Fruit red when immature, dark purple to black at maturity, 4-9 mm in diam.;  seeds 1.6-3 x 1.1-1.4 mm, surface reticulate.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Mexico, from Oaxaca north and west to Coahuila and Chihuahua, in "Matorral Xerofilo" (Rzedowski, 1978), or in dry pine or oak-pine forests, at elevations of 1500-2800(-2950) m.  Flowering and fruiting throughout the year but most commonly Apr-Sep and Jul-Nov, respectively.
 

 Key to Subspecies of Comarostaphylis polifolia

1.  Inflorescences and often young branches and petioles  with glandular trichomes;
     leaves usually revolute or folded;  widespread.
     2.  Leaves usually strongly revolute;  ovary pubescent; twigs and petioles usually
          glandular hirsute;  shrubs to 4(-6) m tall;  widespread  ......................  subsp. polifolia
     2.  Leaves usually not revolute, often conduplicately folded at maturity; ovary glabrous;
          twigs and petioles usually without glandular trichomes;  shrubs to 2 m tall;  Coahuila
          .................................................................................................  subsp. coahuilensis
1.  Inflorescences and young branches and petioles without glandular trichomes;  leaves
     usually plane;  Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí ...................  subsp. minor
 

Comarostaphylis polifolia (Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth) Zuccarini ex Klotzsch subsp. polifolia.  Illustration:  Diggs (1995), fig. 16.

Arctostaphylos oaxacana A. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 7: 585.  1839.  Comarostaphylis  oaxacana (A. P. de Candolle) Klotzsch, Linnaea 24: 77.  1851.  Type.  Mexico. Oaxaca, Andrieux 263 (holotype, G-DC; isotypes, K, photo, Diggs neg, 25, M, P, W).

Arctostaphylos ledifolia Martens & Galeotti, Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 9: 534.  1842.  Type.  Mexico.  Oaxaca:  Yavezia, 2134 m, April 1840 (bud, fl), Galeotti 1806 (lectotype, designated by Diggs (1995): BR-hb. Galeotti, photo, Diggs neg. 26). Galeotti 1806 includes specimens collected at different times and places in Oaxaca.  Since the various localities are cited in the protologue, the specimens are syntypes.

Arctostaphylos latifolia Martens & Galeotti in Walpers, Repert. bot. syst. 2:  826.  1843.  Comarostaphylis latifolia (Martens & Galeotti) Klotzsch, Linnaea 22: 76. 1851.  The epithet latifolia is the result of a typographic or copying error.  While Walpers cites p. 11 of Martens and Galeotti (1842) as where the name A. latifolia is to be found, it is not there. Walpers apparently mistakenly copied "latifolia" instead of "ledifolia" from p. 11 (journal p. 536) of Martens and Galeotti's 1842 article.  The description given by Walpers is identical to the one given for Arctostaphylis ledifolia by Martens and Galeotti (1842).  The erroneous epithet was transferred to Comarostaphylis by Klotzsch.  The corrected form is Comarostaphylis ledifolia (Martens & Galeotti) Klotzsch.

Comarostaphylis hartwegiana Klotzsch, Linnaea 24: 77.  1851.  Arctostaphylos hartwegiana (Klotzsch) Hemsley, Biol. cent.-amer., Bot. 2: 278.  1881.  Type.  Mexico.  Jalisco:  Bolaños, 1837 (McVaugh, 1972), Hartweg 343 (lectotype, designated by Diggs (995): NY, photos, Diggs neg. 27 & NY neg. 8948;  isolectotypes: E, G(2), K (hb. Benth., non hb. Hooker), photo, MICH neg. 697, L, LE, P, W(2)).  The holotype at B was destroyed.

Comarostaphylis angustifolia Klotzsch, Linnaea 24: 74.  1851.  Arctostaphylos  angustifolia (Klotzsch) Hemsley, Biol. cent.-amer., Bot. 2: 278.  1881 non Arctostaphylos angustifolia Payot (=Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Sprengel).  Type.  Mexico, Ehrenberg s.n. (lectotype, designated by Diggs (1995): G, photo, Diggs Neg. 28;  isotypes: GH, n.v., photo, NY s.n., RSA).  The holotype at B was destroyed.

Arctostaphylos caeciliana Loesener, Bull. Herb. Boissier 2: 553.  1894.  Comarostaphylis caeciliana (Loesener) Small, N. Amer. Fl. 24: 88.  1914.  Type.  Mexico.  Oaxaca:  Distr. Etla, nr. Huitzol, Jun 1988 (st), Seler 97 (lectotype, designated by Diggs (1995): GH, photo, Diggs neg. 2).  The holotype at B was presumably destroyed.

Arctostaphylos nochistlanensis Loesener, Bull. Herb. Boissier II, 3: 220.  1903.   Comarostaphylis nochistlanensis (Loesener) Small, N. Amer. Fl. 24: 91.  1914.  Type.  Mexico.  Oaxaca:  Distr. Nochistlán nr. Tillantongo, 10 Dec 1895 (fl), Seler 1451 (lectotype, designated by Diggs (1995): GH, photo, Diggs neg. 30).  The holotype at B was presumably destroyed.

Comarostaphylis microcarpa Small, N. Amer. Fl. 24: 88.  1914.  Type.  Mexico,  Territorio de Tepic, Sierra Madre [Nayarit, nr. Santa Teresa (McVaugh, 1972)], 13 Aug 1897 (im fr), Rose 3466 (holotype: US, photos, NY(3) s.n. & Diggs neg. 31).

    Erect to spreading shrubs or small trees, 0.6-4(-6) m tall;  young twigs and petioles glandular hirsute, often densely so, to tomentose.  Leaves revolute, often strongly so, less frequently hearly plane, 2-7.6 x 0.3-1.9 cm, lower surface tomentulose to tomentose, often densely so, pubescence sometimes ferruginous, rarely subglabrous, glandular trichomes also sometimes present, especially along the midribs.  Inflorescences:  rachis, pedicels, bracts, bracteoles, and calyx usually glandular hirsute, rarely with eglandular trichomes or subglabrous.  Flowers:  ovary with eglandular trichomes, sometimes densely villous.  Fruit 5-9 mm in diam.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Mexico, from Oaxaca, north and west as far as Chihuahua, in the relatively xeric matorral xerofilo (Rzedowski, 1978), at elevations of 1750-2800(-2950) m.  Flowering and fruiting throughout the year but most commonly Apr-Sep and Jul-Nov, respectively.
 

Comarostaphylis polifolia (Kunth) Zuccarini ex Klotzsch subsp. coahuilensis Henrickson, Madroño 28: 34.  1981.  Type.  Mexico.  Coahuila: Cañon de Calabazas in Sierra Mojada, S of La Esmeralda (nr. 27°16'N, 103°41'W), 6 May 1973 (fl), Johnston et al. 10881 (holotype, LL, photo, Diggs neg. 32;  isotype, MEXU, n.v.).

    Erect to spreading, low, rounded, often gnarled shrubs, 0.2-2 m tall;  young twigs and petioles puberulent to hirtellous to subcanescvent, trichomes usually eglandular.  Leaves conduplicately folded at matuirity or plane, 3.3-5.5 x 0.6-1.9 cm, apically obtuse to acute, but usually mucronate, lower surface subglabrous to puberulent.  Inflorescences 2.5-6.2 cm long;  rachis, pedicels, bracts, bracteoles, and calyx puberulent, also usually with stalked, swollen-headed glandular trichomes.  Flowers:  ovary glabrous or sparsely pilose.  Fruit 4-6 mm in diam.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Mexico,  and known only from seven mountain ranges in the central Chihuahuan Desert of southern and central Coahuila, in areas of matorral xerofilo (Rzedowski, 1978) or open chaparral (Henrickson, 1981), at elevations of approximately 1500-2600 m.  Flowering Apr-Aug.;  fruiting Jul-Nov.
 

Comarostaphylis polifolia (Kunth) Zuccarini ex Klotzsch subsp. minor (Small) Diggs, Brittonia 38: 346.  1986.  Comarostaphylis minor Small, N. Amer. Fl. 29: 89.  1914.  Arctostaphylos minor (Small) Standley, Contrib. U.S. Natl. Herb. 23: 1097.  1924.  Type.  Mexico.  Tamaulipas:  Near Miquihuana, 10 June 1893 (im fr), Nelson 4469 (holotype, US, photos, NY(3) s.n. & Diggs neg. 34; isotype, GJ).

Arctostaphylos novoleontis Rehder, J. Arnold Arb. 16: 450.  1935.  Type.  Mexico.   Nuevo León:  Sierra Madre Oriental, San Francisco Cañon, ca. 24 km SW of Galeana, 2287-2439 m, 12 May 1934 (bud, fl), Mueller & Mueller 319 (holotype, A, photo, Diggs neg. 35;  isotypes, F, G, L, MICH, NY, TEX, US, P).

    Distribution.  Endemic to Mexico, to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí, in dry, often degraded areas of matorral xerofilo (Rzedowski, 1978), but is also known from xeric forests dominated by Pinus cembroides, at elevations of 1600-2800 m.  Flowering, Mar-Jul.;  fruiting, May-Sep.