Chrysothamnus nauseosus
Encyclopedia
Ericameria nauseosa commonly known as Chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a shrub of the genus Ericameria
that grows in the arid regions of western North America
. 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 Chrysothmnus to Ericameria. . The second edition of the Jepson plant manual and the USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network have adopted the name Ericameria nauseosa.
, producing pungent-smelling, golden-yellow flowers in late summer and early fall. Flower heads are made up of 5 small, yellow, tubular flowers, and occur in umbrella-shaped terminal clusters. The shrub reproduces from seeds and root sprouts. 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.
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.
, 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."
Ericameria
Ericameria is a genus of shrubs in the Asteraceae or daisy family known by the common names rabbitbrush, rabbitbush, and goldenbush. These are semi-deciduous shrubs familiarly known as to sagebrush. They are distributed in the arid western United States and northern Mexico. Bright yellow flowers...
that grows in the arid regions of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Two subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
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 Chrysothmnus to Ericameria. . The second edition of the Jepson plant manual and the USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network have adopted the name Ericameria nauseosa.
Description
Ericameria nauseosa is a shrubby, 12- to 90-inch (30–230 cm) perennialPerennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
, producing pungent-smelling, golden-yellow flowers in late summer and early fall. Flower heads are made up of 5 small, yellow, tubular flowers, and occur in umbrella-shaped terminal clusters. The shrub reproduces from seeds and root sprouts. 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.
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 sageSagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
and western wheat grass
Western Wheatgrass
Pascopyrum is a monotypic genus of grass containing the sole species Pascopyrum smithii, which is known by the common name western wheatgrass. This is a sod-forming rhizomatous perennial grass which is native and common in North America. It grows in grassland and prairie in the Great Plains, where...
, 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.
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 AlamosLos Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, exhibit a concentration of radioactive strontium-90
Strontium-90
Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium, with a half-life of 28.8 years.-Radioactivity:Natural strontium is nonradioactive and nontoxic, but 90Sr is a radioactivity hazard...
300,000 times higher than a normal plant. Their roots reach into a closed nuclear waste treatment area, mistaking strontium for calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
due to its similar chemical properties. The radioactive shrubs are "indistinguishable from other shrubs without a Geiger counter."