Green Rabbitbrush
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus
Green rabbitbrush is a plant of the higher and colder parts of the Mojave, where the desert begins to lean toward sagebrush country and pinyon-juniper woodland. It grows on dry slopes, in washes, on stony flats, and in ground disturbed by flood, fire, grazing, roads, or mining.
The shrub is low and bushy, usually one to four feet high, with many brittle upright branches rising from a compact base. The young stems are green, then grow pale and woody. Its narrow leaves may be twisted or a little sticky. They do not last through the winter. The plant sheds them when cold weather comes and begins again when the season allows.
In late summer and fall, green rabbitbrush puts out close clusters of small yellow flowers. Then, when much of the country has gone dry and gray, it seems to catch the sun and hold it. Bees, butterflies, wasps, and other insects work the flowers while they last.
Rabbitbrush is well suited to hard-used ground. It can sprout again after fire, and its light seeds travel on the wind into open places. It is often among the first shrubs to return after the older plant cover has been broken. Its roots help hold loose soil, and it is used in reclamation and erosion-control work.
Wildlife browses rabbitbrush, especially when more tender plants are scarce. The value of the plant varies with season, place, and the kind of rabbitbrush, but it is part of the winter country for deer, rabbits, small mammals, and birds.
It is not a grand shrub. It gives little shade, and a traveler may pass it without a glance for most of the year. But when the yellow flowers come, the open country is changed. For a little while, the dry land has color again.
Rabbitbrush in Native American Traditions
Rubber Rabbitbrush
Ericameria nauseosaRubber rabbitbrush is the pale, silvery rabbitbrush of open desert country. It grows in washes, on dry plains, along roads, and in ground disturbed by flood, grazing, mining, or the work of men. In late summer, when much of the Mojave has gone gray and brittle, it opens into a mass of yellow flowers.
The shrub is usually larger and more rounded than green rabbitbrush. Its narrow leaves and young stems are covered with fine white hairs that give the plant its gray-green color. The leaves hold themselves close against the heat, and the roots go down into dry ground where little else will take hold.
The flowers are small, tubular, and golden yellow, but they come in such numbers that a whole bush may shine. Bees, butterflies, and other late-season insects work the flowers. Later, the light seeds go out on the wind and settle in open ground.
Rubber rabbitbrush grows in desert and semi-desert country, in sagebrush, pinyon-juniper woodland, and higher Mojave valleys. It tolerates coarse and alkaline soils and commonly appears where the land has been disturbed. It is useful in soil stabilization and in restoring damaged ground.
Wildlife may browse the plant, especially in fall and winter when tender forage is scarce. Deer, pronghorn, rabbits, and small mammals use it differently from place to place. It is not the first plant animals choose, but a hard winter changes the value of many things.
The name comes from the natural rubber found in the plant, though it was never an important commercial source. What it gives the desert is simpler: a tough shrub that takes hold in poor ground, holds it together, and turns yellow when the rest of the year is running out.