Manzanita

The manzanita is part of the heath family, same as the heath on the moors and it is native to the western part of North America. Their evergreen leaves are thick and their flowers clusters of pink bells. The stone fruit they bear are small, rounded, and red, giving them the name, little apple in Spanish: Manzanita. These fruits are edible, as well as the flower nectar.

Their bark is coiled, red, and white and textured as muscle, as their hundreds of branches reach out in a dizzying waver.

Every summer these trunks and branches peel like snakeskin as the new bark grows beneath.

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Manzanita seeds can remain dormant for many decades - maybe even centuries - and are stimulated to germinate by fire.

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Leaves are astringent, and decoctions from their berries and leaves can be used to ease bronchitis and kidney problems.