Plants killed by fire; burl absent. 2n = 52.

Flowering late spring. High-elevation forests and montane chaparral; (600-)1500-2700 m; Calif., Nev., Oreg., Wash.

Subspecies nevadensis occurs from the North Coast Ranges of California (Del Norte and Humboldt counties) and the Sierra Nevada through the Cascades of Oregon to the Wenatchee Mountains of central Washington. It hybridizes with Arctostaphylos patula. Some botanists have assumed A. parvifolia Howell is of hybrid origin of A. nevadensis × A. glandulosa.