''Ericameria nauseosa'' (formerly ''Chrysothamnus nauseosus''), commonly known as chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a shrub in the sunflower family (Aster) found in the arid regions of western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

have been described, ''consimilis'' (the green form with 8

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

) and ''nauseosa'' (the gray form with 14 varieties).Completion of ''Ericameria'' (Asteraceae: Astereae): diminution of ''Chrysothamnus'' 1993 Phytologia 75: 74–93, G. L. Nesom, G.I. Baird.

Description

''Ericameria nauseosa'' is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

shrub growing to .Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. p 198 The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

, depending on the subspecies, are long and narrow to spatula-shaped. Both the flexible (rubbery) stems and the leaves are greenish-gray with a soft felt-like covering.Flora of North America, Rabbitbrush, ''Ericameria nauseosa'' (Pallas ex Pursh) G. L. Nesom & G. I. Baird
/ref> It blooms from August to OctoberWildflowerSearch.com: Ericameria nauseosa
and produces pungent-smelling, golden-yellow flowers. The

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

are long and made up of 5 small, yellow, tubular

disk flower Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...

s, and occur in umbrella-shaped terminal clusters. The shrub reproduces from seeds and root sprouts.

Taxonomy

Rubber rabbitbrush was moved from the genus ''

Chrysothamnus ''Chrysothamnus'', known as rabbitbrush, rabbitbush, and chamisa, are a genus of shrubs in the family Asteraceae. The native distribution is in the arid western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. It is known for its bright white or yell ...

'' to the genus ''Ericameria'' in a 1993 paper. The findings of a 2003

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

investigation of ''Ericameria'' were consistent with the move of the species to ''Ericameria''. The second edition of the Jepson plant manual and the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

Germplasm Resources Information Network Germplasm Resources Information Network or GRIN is an online USDA National Genetic Resources Program software project to comprehensively manage the computer database for the holdings of all plant germplasm collected by the National Plant Germpla ...

have adopted the name ''Ericameria nauseosa''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

means 'heavy scented'.

Subspecies and varieties

Recognized infraspecific taxa from

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant specie ...

The Plant List, ''Ericameria nauseosa'' (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird
/ref> with

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

information from ''

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...

'' and

Tropicos Tropicos is an online botanical database containing taxonomic information on plants, mainly from the Neotropical realm ( Central, and South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Sou ...

: * ''Ericameria nauseosa'' subsp. ''consimilis'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird (green form) ** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''arenaria'' (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – sandstone in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''arta'' (A.Nelson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird –

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''ceruminosa'' (Durand & Hilg.) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – gravelly arroyos in Mohave Desert of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''juncea'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird –

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''leiosperma'' (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – sandy + rocky sites in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''mohavensis'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – scrublands in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''nitida'' (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – dry streambeds in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''turbinata'' (M.E.Jones) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – sand dunes in

* ''Ericameria nauseosa'' subsp. ''nauseosa'' (gray form) ** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''ammophila'' L.C.Anderson –

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''bernardina'' (H.M.Hall) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – open pine forests in

;

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''bigelovii'' (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – dry slopes in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''graveolens'' (Nutt.) Reveal & Schuyler – plains in Sask.;

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Dakotas,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''hololeuca'' (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – slopes in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''iridis'' (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – steep, barren slopes in Sevier County in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''latisquamea'' (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - dry streambeds in

;

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''nana'' (Cronquist) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – ridges and cliffs in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''nauseosa'' – plains + hills in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

;

, Dakotas.,

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''oreophila'' (A.Nelson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird –

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''psilocarpa'' (S.F.Blake) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – sagebrush scrub in eastern

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''salicifolia'' (Rydb.) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – brushlands in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''speciosa'' (Nutt.) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – brush + open woodlands in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''texensis'' (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – Guadalupe Mountains in

** ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''washoensis'' (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird – open rocky sites in grasslands of northeastern

and northwestern

Distribution and habitat

It grows in the arid regions of western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(from the western

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

) and northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Ecology

Along with associated species, like big sage and western wheat grass, rubber rabbitbrush is only lightly or occasionally used by herbivores during the summer. However, it can be heavily used during the winter when other food sources are scarce and on depleted rangelands. Some of the species that consume it include

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American ante ...

s, and

black-tailed jackrabbit The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...

s. It is considered poor forage for almost all domestic animals, though sheep are reported to consume significant amounts of it in Utah. It is also frequently used as shelter by jackrabbits. Dense stands of this species often grow on poorly managed rangelands, in disturbed areas along roadways and on abandoned agricultural property.Utah State University Extension
. The species often occurs with '' Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus''.

Cultivation

Rabbitbrush, ''Ericameria nauseosa'', has gained popularity as an ornamental

xeriscaping Xeriscaping is the process of Garden design, landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acce ...

shrub in areas where water conservation is important. It thrives in a wide range of coarse, alkaline soils that are common to desert environments. Pruning the shrub back to several inches in early spring, before new growth begins, may help improve the shrub's ornamental value.Wendy Mee et al. ''Waterwise, Native Plants for Intermountain Landscapes''
Utah State University Press, 2003
. The varieties ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''nauseosa'' and ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''speciosa'' are especially valued as they rarely exceed 24 inches and will often only reach a foot in height. Gardeners appreciate the enthusiastic late season blooms as well as the foliage.

Radioactivity

Specimens growing in Bayo Canyon, near Los Alamos,

, exhibit a concentration of radioactive

strontium-90 Strontium-90 () is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission, with a half-life of 28.79 years. It undergoes β− decay into yttrium-90, with a decay energy of 0.546 MeV. Strontium-90 has applications in medicine a ...

300,000 times higher than a normal plant. Their roots reach into a closed nuclear waste treatment area, mistaking strontium for

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

due to its similar chemical properties. According to Joseph Masco, the radioactive shrubs are "indistinguishable from other shrubs without a

Geiger counter A Geiger counter (, ; also known as a Geiger–Müller counter or G-M counter) is an electronic instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation with the use of a Geiger–Müller tube. It is widely used in applications such as radiat ...

."Masco, Joseph. ''The Nuclear Borderlands: The Manhattan Project in Post-Cold War New Mexico''
Princeton University Press, 2006

Uses

The

Zuni people The Zuni (; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni people today are federally recognized as the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, and most live in the Pueblo o ...

use the blossoms ''bigelovii'' variety of the ''nauseosa'' subspecies to make a yellow dye. They use the stems to make baskets. The

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

also made a yellow dye from some of the flower heads. Native Americans of the southwest would also cook the leaves of the plant with cornmeal to raise the bread.

Possible commercial uses

Rubber rabbitbrush was considered as a source of rubber as early as 1904. Several studies have been conducted on the possible use of rubber rabbitbrush as a source of rubber including ones during World Wars I and II, and in 1987. Between 2005 and 2008, the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

researched possible material applications of rubber rabbitbrush. One possible commercial use of the species would be as a source for

hypoallergenic Hypoallergenic, meaning "below average" or "slightly" allergenic, is a term meaning that something (usually cosmetics, pets, textiles, food, etc.) causes fewer allergic reactions. The term was first used in 1953 in an advertising campaign for co ...

rubber for use in products designed for people with latex allergies.

Gallery

File:NativeRabbitBush.JPG, Rabbitbrush native to the area near the post office in

Crestone, Colorado The Town of Crestone is a Statutory Town in Saguache County, Colorado. According to the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 141. Crestone is located at the foot of the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Range, in the n ...

File:RabbitBushBlooms.JPG, Blooms of the decorative rabbitbrush used at the Crestone post office. File:rubber rabbitbrush 01.jpg, Rubber rabbitbrush in Utah File:Ericameria nauseosa.jpg, At Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge,

References

External links

* *
United States Department of Agribulture Profile: ''Ericameria nauseosa''

Jepson Manual – ''Ericameria nauseosa''

''Ericameria nauseosa'' Calflora Photo Gallery, University of California

* https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/ericameria_nauseosa.shtml {{Authority control nauseo Fiber plants Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Plant dyes Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status