Shrubs, erect, 1-3 m; burl present or absent; bark on older stems persistent, gray, shredded; twigs sparsely short-hairy. Leaves erect; petiole 3-8 mm; blade bright green, shiny, elliptic, 1-3 × 1-2 cm, base cuneate to rounded, margins entire, plane, surfaces smooth, puberulent, glabrescent . Inflorescences racemes, (simple or 1-branched); immature inflorescence pendent, axis 0.5-1 cm, 1+ mm diam., sparsely short-hairy; bracts not appressed, scalelike, deltate, 2-6 mm, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous. Pedicels 3-6 mm, glabrous. Flowers: corolla white, conic to urceolate; ovary glabrous. Fruits depressed-globose, 8-14 mm diam., glabrous. Stones distinct. 2n = 26.

Flowering winter-early spring. Maritime chaparral on sandy soils; of conservation concern; 0-100 m; Calif.

Arctostaphylos rudis is found along the coast in Nipomo and Burton mesas and Point Sal, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.