Arctostaphylos silvicola is a species in the Ericaceae (Heath) family that is known by the common name Bonny Doon Manzanita. It is endemic to Santa Cruz County, California, where it is known from only about 20 occurrences in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains. It grows in coniferous forest and chaparral on the sandy coastal slopes. This is a large shrub growing at least a meter tall and known to exceed six meters, looking much like a tree. The bark is dark red and smooth. The leaves are greenish-gray in color and sometimes slightly woolly. They are oval in shape and up to 3.5 centimeters long. The flower clusters consist of long, urn-shaped flowers and the fruit is a drupe 6 to 12 millimeters wide.
In the garden its gray foliage contrasts nicely with the red bark. It tolerates cold but prefers no summer water. It would probably perform best in northern to central California gardens close to the coast.