2015-02-26-16.25.46 ZS PMax Arctostaphylos uva-ursi x (Humboldt Mystery Manzanita)-1

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi x—Humboldt Mystery Manzanita. Jim Roof, first Director of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden was a secretive man. He kept the location of this collection secret from the time he collected it in the early 1940s until his death. Thus, the second parent is difficult to determine. Experts have often cited A. columbiana as the most likely parent but Roof always swore that it was not. One day soon some enterprising scholar will perform a DNA analysis and then we may know the parentage. It seems a shame that a secret that has lasted for so long will be revealed. The plant has proven garden-worthy and it is planted widely in coastal California counties. The plant photographed is at Regional Parks Botanic Garden located in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, CA.

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