Arctostaphylos viscida, Whiteleaf Manzanita in Victoria Garden, Redding, CA

My personal notes: (be aware that this are my experiences in Victoria Garden. In other places in and around Redding, this plant can behave differently)

Arctostaphylos viscida (Whiteleaf Manzanita) grows outside the gated area on our property. It is definately a local native, you can find everywhere in the woodland behind our house, accompanied by grey pines and blue oaks. With those plants it forms a plant community.
This plant species is definitely drought tolerant and doesn't like to be watered in summer. It copes with the summer drought by having its leaves vertically, in order to receive less sun. The leaves themselves have a grey color, in the sun nearly looking white. Grey reflexes the sun so the leaves get less hot. The leaves are also leathery, which allows the plant to store more water, and a bit sandpapery, which is better for cooling off. The stem, branches and twigs are nicely red an contain oils to protect them for drying out too much. Unfortunately these oils make them a real fire hazard around the house. So we had to ban them to the outside parts of our property. But they seem to trive on the most plant-hostile places on our property.
The flowers appear in winter. They are light pink and flask-shaped, and with their sweet nectar the main feeding source for the hummingbirds and honeybees in this season.
In fall the fruits develop. These red berries, looking a bit like little apples (Manzanita in Spanish) give this shrub its common name. Birds love them and they will eat them all before Spring starts. There are many different varieties of Manzanita. This one has got the most light grey leaves and belongs to the most heat resistant plants around Redding and being also quite frost hardy it is one of the toughest plants I know.