Manzanita is an erect, spreading shrub to 3 m tall. The twigs are hairy and the bark on older branches is reddish brown and peels. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, oval, hairy (especially on the underside), and gray-green. The flowers are in small clusters of pinkish pendent bells at the ends of branches. The fruits are blackish-red berries, edible but mealy. Manzanita grows in dry sunny areas such as rock outcrops or rocky slopes on acidic soils at low elevations.