Adenostoma fasciculatum
Encyclopedia
Adenostoma fasciculatum (Chamise or Greasewood) is a flowering plant
native to California
and northern Baja California
. This shrub
is one of the most widespread plants of the chaparral
biome
.
shrub growing to 4m tall, with dry-looking stick-like branches. The leaves
are small, 4–10 mm long and 1mm broad with a pointed apex, and sprout in clusters from the branches. These clusters are known as fascicle
s, and give the species its Latin name. The leaves are shiny with flammable oils, especially in warmer weather. The branches terminate in bunches of white tubular flower
s five mm diameter, with five petals and long stamens. The fruit
is a dry achene
.
The oily leaves give rise to the common name greasewood; however, the species Sarcobatus vermiculatus
is more appropriately called by that name.
which differ from each other in minor characters; they are not accepted as distinct by all authors:
s. It can be found in serpentine soil
s, which are generally inhospitable to most plants, as well as in slate, sand, clay, and gravel soils. Chaparral habitats are known for their fierce periodical wildfire
s, and like other chaparral
flora, chamise dries out, burns, and recovers quickly to thrive once again. It is a plant that controls erosion
well, sprouting from ground level in low basal crowns that remain after fires, preventing the bare soil from being washed away.
Chamise grows in dense, monotypic stands that cover the dry hills of coastal California. These thickets of chamise are sometimes called chamissal. The species also gives its name to a specific chaparral
(i.e. Adenostoma fasciculatum chaparral) dominated by A. fasciculatum, according to C.Michael Hogan. In this chaparral type toyon
may also be a co-dominant.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
native to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and northern Baja California
Baja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
. This shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
is one of the most widespread plants of the chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
.
Description
Adenostoma fasciculatum is an evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub growing to 4m tall, with dry-looking stick-like branches. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are small, 4–10 mm long and 1mm broad with a pointed apex, and sprout in clusters from the branches. These clusters are known as fascicle
Fascicle (botany)
In botany, a fascicle is a bundle of leaves or flowers, or of the vascular tissues that supply these organs with nutrients...
s, and give the species its Latin name. The leaves are shiny with flammable oils, especially in warmer weather. The branches terminate in bunches of white tubular flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s five mm diameter, with five petals and long stamens. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a dry achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
.
The oily leaves give rise to the common name greasewood; however, the species Sarcobatus vermiculatus
Greasewood
Greasewood, Sarcobatus, is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants. Traditionally it has been treated in the family Chenopodiaceae, but the APG II system, of 2003, places it in the family Sarcobataceae....
is more appropriately called by that name.
Varieties
There are two varietiesVariety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
which differ from each other in minor characters; they are not accepted as distinct by all authors:
- A. f. var. fasciculatum - Leaves 5-10 mm, apex sharp; shoots hairless.
- A. f. var. obtusifolium - Leaves 4-6 mm, apex blunt; shoots slightly hairy.
Ecology
It is very drought tolerant and adaptable, with the ability to grow in nutrient-poor, barren soil and on dry, rocky outcropOutcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s. It can be found in serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s, which are generally inhospitable to most plants, as well as in slate, sand, clay, and gravel soils. Chaparral habitats are known for their fierce periodical wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s, and like other chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
flora, chamise dries out, burns, and recovers quickly to thrive once again. It is a plant that controls erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
well, sprouting from ground level in low basal crowns that remain after fires, preventing the bare soil from being washed away.
Chamise grows in dense, monotypic stands that cover the dry hills of coastal California. These thickets of chamise are sometimes called chamissal. The species also gives its name to a specific chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
(i.e. Adenostoma fasciculatum chaparral) dominated by A. fasciculatum, according to C.Michael Hogan. In this chaparral type toyon
Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia , and commonly known as Toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to California down to Baja California....
may also be a co-dominant.