''Ericameria'' is a genus of

North American 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 Ca ...

shrubs 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 ...

.Flora of North America Goldenbush ''Ericameria'' Nuttall
/ref> ''Ericameria'' is known by the common names goldenbush, rabbitbrush, turpentine bush, and rabbitbush. Most are shrubs but one species ''( E. parishii)'' can reach tree stature. They are distributed in 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 ...

(

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

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, ...

) 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 ...

(from the western

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

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 definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

) and northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Bright yellow

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 ...

adorn the plants in late summer. All the species have

disc floret 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 ...

s, while some have

ray florets 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 ...

but others do not. ''

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 ...

'', (synonym ''Chrysothamnus nauseosus''), is known for its production of

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

Etymology

''Ericameria'' is based on the genus name ''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * Eric ...

'' and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''meros'' ('part'), in reference to the similarity of the plant's leaves to those of ''Erica''.

Uses

This genus has a number of admirable

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

plants for heavily

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 ...

soils, but most species need extensive rejuvenation

pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...

every three years, making not ideal for common yards. Overwatering will kill the plants. ''Ericameria'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including ''

Schinia argentifascia ''Schinia argentifascia'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America, including Arizona, California, Baja California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The wingspan is about 24 mm. The larvae feed on ''Ericameria ...

'', '' Schinia tertia'', '' Schinia unimacula'' and '' Schinia walsinghami''.

Selected species

''Ericameria'' section ''Asiris''

*'' Ericameria albida'' *'' Ericameria arizonica'' *'' Ericameria cervina'' *'' Ericameria discoidea'' *'' Ericameria gilmanii'' *'' Ericameria lignumviridis'' *'' Ericameria nana'' *''

'' (syn. ''

Chrysothamnus nauseosus ''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 subspecies ...

'') *'' Ericameria obovata'' *'' Ericameria ophitidis'' *'' Ericameria parryi'' — Parry's rabbitbrush *'' Ericameria resinosa'' *'' Ericameria watsonii''

''Ericameria'' section ''Ericameria''

*'' Ericameria arborescens'' — Golden-fleece; exclusive food plant of the moth '' Bucculatrix ericameriae'' *'' Ericameria brachylepis'' — Boundary goldenbush *'' Ericameria cooperi'' *'' Ericameria cuneata'' *'' Ericameria ericoides'' — Mock heather, goldenbush *'' Ericameria fasciculata'' — Eastwood's goldenbush *'' Ericameria juarezensis'' *''

Ericameria laricifolia ''Ericameria laricifolia'' is a North American species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae known by the common name turpentine bush, or turpentine-brush. It is native to the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas ...

'' *'' Ericameria linearifolia'' *'' Ericameria martirensis'' *'' Ericameria palmeri'' — Palmer's goldenweed, false broomweed *'' Ericameria paniculata'' — Sticky rabbitbrush, black-banded rabbitbrush *''

Ericameria parishii ''Ericameria parishii'', or Parish's rabbitbrush, is a western North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Distribution The plant is native to southern Southern California in the United States and to the State of Baja Ca ...

'' *'' Ericameria pinifolia'' — Pine goldenbush *'' Ericameria teretifolia'' — Needle-leaved rabbitbrush

''Ericameria'' section ''Macronema''

*'' Ericameria bloomeri'' *'' Ericameria compacta'' *'' Ericameria crispa'' *'' Ericameria greenei'' *'' Ericameria suffruticosa'' *'' Ericameria winwardii'' *'' Ericameria zionis''

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Ericameria''United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Ericameria''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1761521 Flora of North America Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall