Arctostaphylos pajaroensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Pajaro manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it is known mainly from Monterey County. Historical occurrences have been noted in Santa Cruz and far western San Benito Counties; these may no longer exist. Most of the extant populations are located in the hills south of the Pajaro River Valley. It is a member of the chaparral plant community. This is an erect shrub growing at least a meter tall and known to exceed four meters in height. It has shreddy red or grayish bark with woolly hairs and long white bristles on its smaller twigs. The dense foliage is made up of gray-green, reddish-tinted leaves with smooth, toothed, or rolled edges. They are oval to somewhat triangular in shape and 2 to 4 centimeters long. The shrub flowers in the winter, bearing large loose flower clusters of pink to nearly white urn-shaped flowers. The fruit is a drupe about 7 millimeters wide.
In the garden its combination of reddish new growth and pink flowers is striking. It can be pruned to ground cover height or allowed to mound up. Though native to the coast, it has performed well in inland gardens with well drained soil in sun to part shade. It has an unusually long bloom time for a manzanita. The horticultural variety ‘Paradise’ is most often available in nurseries.