State shrub.

Assembly Member Bennett's proposal to designate the bigberry manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca) as California's official state shrub recognizes a plant deeply woven into the state's ecological and cultural fabric. The designation would add this native chaparral species to California's collection of official state symbols, which includes the golden poppy as the state flower, the California redwood as the state tree, and purple needlegrass as the state grass.

The bill's findings detail the bigberry manzanita's million-year presence in California's landscape, where its broad root system helps prevent soil erosion across diverse habitats from the San Francisco Bay to Baja California. The plant's name reflects California's multicultural heritage - "manzanita" meaning "little apple" in Spanish, while its scientific name Arctostaphylos derives from Greek words meaning "bear grape." Native American communities historically used its fruit for food, as did the now-extinct California grizzly bear, the state's official animal.

The legislation notes that increasing fire frequency poses challenges to old-growth stands of bigberry manzanita in California's chaparral ecosystems. The authors present the official designation as part of broader awareness efforts regarding the plant's role in California's natural landscape. The bill requires a majority vote for passage and carries no direct fiscal impact or program requirements.