We describe two new subspecies of the widespread shrub Arctostaphylos. One subspecies is a southern extension of A. purissima; A. purissima subsp. globosa V.T. Parker and M.C. Vasey. It differs from the nominate species in several ways, but principally in having glandular hairs on the young stems and inflorescences and having a globose fruit typically with fused nutlets. We also describe a new subspecies of A. patula; A. patula subsp. gankinii M.C. Vasey and V.T. Parker. Arctostaphylos patula subsp. gankinii is a distinctive variant of the montane greenleaf manzanita that occurs widely at various localities in the Sierra Nevada extending into the inner North Coast, Klamath, and Siskiyou ranges of California and southern Oregon. This new subspecies appears to have been identified incorrectly as A. manzanita subsp. roofii and subspecies of A. mewukka in herbarium collections. The patterns of diversity for both species and their subspecies illustrate common taxonomic issues in the genus, representing potential inter-population hybrid introgression and intra-population morphological diversification, a potentially common mode of speciation in this genus.