''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' is an American species of

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.

Description

''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' grows up to about in height, with spreading, brittle, pale stem branches. The leaves are up to a few centimeters long and may be thin and thread-like or up to 1 cm wide and oblong. They are

glandular A gland is a cell or an organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also function to remove unwanted substance ...

resinous A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

, and sticky. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a bushy cluster of

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 ...

, each head 0.5–1 cm long. The flower head is lined with sticky yellow-green

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one o ...

and contains several yellowish protruding flowers. The fruit is a hairy

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

a few millimeters long with a wispy pappus at the tip.Flora of North America, Yellow or sticky-leaf rabbitbrush, ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' (Hooker) Nuttall
/ref>

Subspecies and varieties

Subspecies and varieties include:Subspecies and varieties recognized b
USDA — ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' Subordinate Taxa
. accessed 5 September 2015Subspecies recognized b
Calflora Database for ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus''
. accessed 5 September 2015Subspecies recognized by
The Plant List, ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus''
Kew Gardens, London. * ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' subsp. ''axillaris'' (D.D.Keck) L.C.Anderson — desert slopes 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 ...

, California,

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 ...

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 ...

* ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' subsp. ''lanceolatus'' (Nutt.) H.M.Hall & Clem. — Pennington County in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

* ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' subsp. ''planifolius'' L.C.Anderson — Arizona * ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' subsp. ''puberulus'' (D.C.Eaton) H.M.Hall & Clem. — alpine zones in Arizona, California,

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), ...

, Nevada,

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 ...

, Utah * ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' subsp. ''viscidiflorus'' —

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

talus in most of the species range *''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' var. ''latifolius'' * ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' var. ''serrulatus'' (Torr.) Greene — Utah, Nevada *''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' var. ''stenophyllus'' *''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' var. ''viscidiflorus''

Chemistry

''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' contains an unusual ''m''-hydroxyacetophenone derivative, named viscidone, and chromanone derivatives.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is widespread in

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 ...

across much of the 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 ...

and 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 ...

, from

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 ...

and

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 ...

south to

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 ...

and

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 ...

, with a few populations in the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

and in western

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 ...

, as well as in South America in the

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

valleys of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The species grows in

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...

and woodland habitat. It grows easily in

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...

and

saline soils Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization (also called salination in American English). Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salinization can be caused by natural ...

, and thrives on soils that are rich in

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 ...

. It rapidly establishes in disturbed habitat, including burns, flooded washes, and rockslides, so it is a valuable shrub for revegetating damaged land such as

overgrazed Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature r ...

rangeland Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savanna ...

and abandoned

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

areas.

Ecology

Moses Coulee after the 2020 wildfire with only Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp lanceolatus regrowing

It is a larval host to the sagebrush checkerspot and it is an important nectar source in the fall.The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press. Range animals such as deer and antelope browse the foliage. It often occurs with ''

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

''. ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' plants are typically killed by fire, but can resprout with sufficient energy reserves, and their windborne seeds can blow into a burned area and sprout vigorously. The numbers of plants often increase shortly after a fire and can dominate the landscape, but decreases as ''

Artemisia tridentata '' Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or simply sagebrush (one of several related species of this name), is an aromatic shrub from the ...

'' (big sagebrush) recolonizes an area.

References

External links

USDA Plants profile for ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' (yellow rabbitbrush)CalFlora database: ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' (green rabbitbrush, stickyleaf rabbitbrush, yellow rabbitbrush)
— with subspecies links *
NPIN−Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus''
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150628160741/http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Yellow%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/chrysothamnus%202.htm Southwest Colorado Wildflowersbr>Goldenweeds and Rabbitbrush Found East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington: ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' ssp. ''lanceolatus''
— (green rabbitbrush, lanceleaf rabbitbrush, yellow rabbitbrush)
University of California, Calphotos photo gallery — ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus''
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5114963 Astereae Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the Mojave Desert Plants described in 1840 Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall Flora without expected TNC conservation status