''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus'' is a species of

shrub A shrub (often also called a 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 ...

in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

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,

resinous In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

, and sticky. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a bushy cluster of

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) 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, compos ...

, each head 0.5–1 cm long. The flower head is lined with sticky yellow-green phyllaries 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 dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

a few millimeters long with a wispy pappus at the tip. The species grows in sagebrush and woodland habitat.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 ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, California,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. 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 Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

* ''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 state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, Nevada,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, 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 Pa ...

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 across of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n in much of the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

south to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, with a few populations in the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) 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 P ...

and in western

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, as well as in South America in the Andean valleys of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It grows easily in

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

and

saline soils Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

, and thrives on soils that are rich in

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the 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 ...

.Forest Service Fire Ecology
/ref> 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 rese ...

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, savannas ...

and abandoned

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

areas.

Ecology

It is a larval host to the

sagebrush checkerspot ''Chlosyne acastus'', the sagebrush checkerspot, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae that is found in North America. They range from western United States east to Nebraska and north to southern Alberta.Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman (2003) ''K ...

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 sunflower family (Aster) found in the arid regions of western North America. Two subspeci ...

''.

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