Ericameria nauseosa

Ericameria nauseosa
Ericameria nauseosa in Oregon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Astereae
Genus:	Ericameria
Species:	E. nauseosa
Binomial name
Ericameria nauseosa (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird
Synonyms
Synonymy Chondrophora nauseosa (Pall. ex Pursh) Britton Chrysothamnus nauseosus (Pall. ex Pursh) Britton Chrysocoma nauseosa]] Pall. Chrysothamnus frigidus Greene Bigelowia nauseosa M.E.Jones Chrysothamnus collinus Greene Chrysothamnus concolor (A.Nelson) Rydb. Chrysothamnus pallidus A.Nelson Aster edwardii Kuntze Bigelowia juncea Greene Chrysothamnus junceus (Greene) Greene Chrysothamnus plattensis (Greene) Greene Machaeranthera scabrella (Greene) Shinners, syn of var. ammophila Aster binominatus Kuntze, syn of var. bigelovii Bigelowia bigelovii (A.Gray) A.Gray, syn of var. bigelovii Chrysothamnus bigelovii (A.Gray) Greene, syn of var. bigelovii Chrysothamnus glareosus (M.E.Jones) Rydb., syn of var. bigelovii Chrysothamnus moquianus Greene, syn of var. bigelovii Linosyris bigelovii A.Gray, syn of var. bigelovii Bigelowia ceruminosa (Durand & Hilg.) A.Gray, syn of var. ceruminosa Chrysothamnus ceruminosus (Durand & Hilg.) Greene, syn of var. ceruminosa Linosyris ceruminosus Durand & Hilg., syn of var. ceruminosa Chrysothamnus angustus Greene, syn of var. consimilis Chrysothamnus confinis Greene, syn of var. consimilis Chrysothamnus consimilis Greene, syn of var. consimilis Chrysothamnus falcatus Greene, syn of var. consimilis Chrysothamnus patens Rydb. syn of var. consimilis Chrysothamnus pinifolius Greene, syn of var. consimilis Chrysothamnus tortuosus Greene, syn of var. consimilis Bigelowia graveolens (Nutt.) A.Gray, syn of var. graveolens Chrysocoma graveolens Nutt., syn of var. graveolens Chrysothamnus dracunculoides (DC.) Nutt., syn of var. graveolens Chrysothamnus graveolens (Nutt.) Greene, syn of var. graveolens Chrysothamnus laetevirens Greene, syn of var. graveolens Chrysothamnus virens Greene, syn of var. graveolens Linosyris graveolens (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray, syn of var. graveolens Chrysothamnus gnaphalodes (Greene) Greene, syn of var. hololeuca Chrysothamnus appendiculatus (Eastw.) A.Heller, syn of var. latisquamea Chrysothamnus arizonicus (Greene) Greene, syn of var. latisquamea Chrysothamnus latisquameus (A.Gray) Greene, syn of var. leiosperma Aster leiospermus (A.Gray) Kuntze, syn of var. leiosperma Bigelowia leiosperma A.Gray, syn of var. leiosperma Chrysothamnus leiospermus (A.Gray) Greene, syn of var. leiosperma Aster mohavensis (Greene) Kuntze, syn of var. mohavensis Bigelowia mohavensis Greene, syn of var. mohavensis Bigelowia mohavensis Greene ex A.Gray, syn of var. mohavensis Chrysothamnus mohavensis (Greene) Greene, syn of var. mohavensis Bigelowia glareosa M.E.Jones, syn of var. psilocarpa Chrysothamnus salicifolius Rydb., syn of var. salicifolia Chrysothamnus californicus Greene, syn of var. speciosa Chrysothamnus formosus Greene, syn of var. speciosa Chrysothamnus macounii Greene, syn of var. speciosa Chrysothamnus occidentalis (Greene) Greene, syn of var. speciosa Chrysothamnus orthophyllus Greene, syn of var. speciosa Chrysothamnus pulcherrimus A.Nelson, syn of var. speciosa Chrysothamnus speciosus Nutt., syn of var. speciosa Bigelowia turbinata M.E.Jones , syn of var. turbinata Chrysothamnus turbinatus (M.E.Jones) Rydb., syn of var. turbinata

File:CrestonePostOffice.JPG

showy rabbitbrush used in the landscaping of the post office in Crestone, Colorado

Flower heads, each with five individual flowers. Most of the flower heads in the cluster of heads were removed for this image.

Ericameria nauseosa (formerly Chrysothamnus nauseosus), commonly known as Chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a North American shrub in the sunflower family. It that grows in the arid regions of western Canada, western United States (from the western Great Plains to the Pacific) and northern Mexico.

Two subspecies have been described, nauseosa (the gray form with 14 varieties) and consimilis (the green form with 8 varieties).

Rubber rabbitbrush was moved from the genus Chrysothamnus to the genus Ericameria in a 1993 paper. The findings of a 2003 phylogenetic investigation of Ericameria were consistent with the move of the rubber rabbitbrush from Chrysothamnus to Ericameria. The second edition of the Jepson plant manual and the USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network have adopted the name Ericameria nauseosa.

Description

Growth pattern

Ericameria nauseosa is a 2' to 8' perennial shrub. The shrub reproduces from seeds and root sprouts.

Inflorescence

It blooms from September to October. It produces pungent-smelling, golden-yellow flowers. Flower heads are made up of 5 small, yellow, tubular disk flowers flowers, and occur in umbrella-shaped terminal clusters.

Stems and Leaves

Leaves, 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.

Subspecies and varieties

Recognized infraspecific taxa from The Plant List with distribution information from Flora of North America and Tropicos

• 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, New Mexico, Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. arta (A.Nelson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - Idaho, Oregon
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. ceruminosa (Durand & Hilg.) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - gravelly arroyos in Mohave Desert of California
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. juncea (Greene) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. leiosperma (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - sandy + rocky sites in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. mohavensis (Greene) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - scrublands in California, Nevada
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. nitida (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - dry streambeds in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. turbinata (M.E.Jones) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - sand dunes in Arizona, Nevada, Utah
• Ericameria nauseosa subsp. nauseosa (gray form)
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. ammophila L.C.Anderson - Colorado
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. bernardina (H.M.Hall) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - open pine forests in California; Baja California
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. bigelovii (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - dry slopes in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. graveolens (Nutt.) Reveal & Schuyler - plains in Sask.; Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Dakotas, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. hololeuca (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - slopes in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. iridis (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - steep, barren slopes in Sevier County in Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. latisquamea (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - dry streambeds in Arizona, New Mexico; Baja California, Sonora
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. nana (Cronquist) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - ridges and cliffs in Idaho, Oregon, Washington
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. nauseosa - plains + hills in Alberta, Saskatchewan; Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Dakotas., Wyoming
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. oreophila (A.Nelson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Baja California
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. psilocarpa (S.F.Blake) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - sagebrush scrub in eastern Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. salicifolia (Rydb.) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - brushlands in Utah
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. speciosa (Nutt.) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - brush + open woodlands in Alberta, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. texensis (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - Guadalupe Mountains in Texas + New Mexico
  • Ericameria nauseosa var. washoensis (L.C.Anderson) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird - open rocky sites in grasslands of northeastern California and northwestern Nevada

Cultivation

Rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa, has gained popularity as an ornamental xeriscaping 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.

Forage

Along with associated species, like big sage and western wheat grass, rubber rabbitbrush is a significant source of food for browsing wildlife on winter ranges. Dense stands of this species often grow on poorly managed rangelands, in disturbed areas along roadways and on abandoned agricultural property.

Uses

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

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 1987. Currently the University of Nevada is conducting research on possible of uses of rubber rabbitbrush for biomaterial and bioenergy uses. One possible commercial use of rubber rabbitbrush would be as a source for hypoallergenic rubber for use in products designed for people with latex allergies.

Radioactivity

Specimens growing in Bayo Canyon, near Los Alamos, New Mexico, exhibit a concentration of radioactive strontium-90 300,000 times higher than a normal plant. Their roots reach into a closed nuclear waste treatment area, mistaking strontium for calcium due to its similar chemical properties. The radioactive shrubs are "indistinguishable from other shrubs without a Geiger counter."

Gallery

• NativeRabbitBush.JPG

  Rabbitbrush native to the area near the post office in Crestone, Colorado

• RabbitBushBlooms.JPG

  Blooms of the decorative rabbitbrush used at the Crestone post office.

• Rubber rabbitbrush 01.jpg

  Rubber rabbitbrush in Utah

External links

• United States Department of Agribulture Profile: Ericameria nauseosa
• Jepson Manual - Ericameria nauseosa
• Ericameria nauseosa Calflora Photo Gallery,University of California
• Ericameria nauseosa Oregon Flora Image Project
• Data related to Ericameria nauseosa at Wikispecies

• The Plant List, Ericameria nauseosa (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird
• Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
• Completion of Ericameria (Asteraceae: Astereae): diminution of Chrysothamnus 1993 Phytologia 75: 74-93, G. L. Nesom, G.I. Baird.
• Molecular phylogeny of Ericameria (Asteraceae, Astereae) based on nuclear ribosomal 3' ETS and ITS sequence data TAXON 52 · May 2003: 209-228,Roland P. Roberts, Lowell E. Urbatsch
• Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. p 198
• Flora of North America, Rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa (Pallas ex Pursh) G. L. Nesom & G. I. Baird
• Tropicos, Ericameria nauseosa (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L. Nesom & G.I. Baird
• Anderson, Loran Crittendon 2006. Sida 22(2): 868–872 diagnosis in Latin, description and commentary in English, color photo on page 869
• Wendy Mee et al. Waterwise, Native Plants for Intermountain Landscapes. Utah State University Press, 2003.
• Utah State University Extension.
• Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30, p.80
• Stevenson p.81
• Resin and Rubber Content in Chrysothmnus 1987 Dale Hegerhorst, Darrell W. Weber E. Durant McArthur The Southwestern Naturalist 32(4):475-482
• Masco, Joseph. The Nuclear Borderlands: The Manhattan Project in Post-Cold War New Mexico. Princeton University Press, 2006.