{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |name = Chamise | image = Adenostoma fasciculatum.jpg | genus = Adenostoma | species = fasciculatum | authority = Hook. & Arn.<ref name = usda>{{cite web | url = https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ADFA | title = Plant profile for Adenostoma fasciculatum | year = 2008 | website = USDA}}</ref> | range_map = Chamise distribution.png | range_map_caption = Approximate distribution of ''Adenostoma fasciculatum'' in North America. }}
'''''Adenostoma fasciculatum''''', commonly known as '''chamise''' or '''greasewood''', is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs.<ref name=":3">Rundel, P. W. (2018). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip-Rundel/publication/324337489_California_Chaparral_and_Its_Global_Significance/links/5baad6c9299bf13e604c8f00/California-Chaparral-and-Its-Global-Significance.pdf California chaparral and its global significance. In ''Valuing Chaparral''] (pp. 7). Springer, Cham.</ref>
==Description==
=== Morphology === It is a shrub with long, arching stems of brown to gray bark,<ref name=":4" /> and is usually less than 4 meters high.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=William|date=2012|title=Adenostoma fasciculatum|url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=11939|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Jepson eFlora|publisher=Jepson Flora Project|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829133907/http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=11939 |archive-date=2017-08-29 }}</ref> It is diffusely branched and spreading in habit, with some forms prostrate. The stems are slender, numerous, and erect, and generally lack permanent branches. The young stems have reddish bark, and become gray with exfoliating bark in later age.<ref name=":6" /> The stems are resinous, oily, and glabrous to puberulent, with stipules less than 1.5 mm.<ref name=":7" /> Emerging from the stems are alternate spirally arranged leaves, and sometimes branches. The leaves are linear, often 5 to 10 mm long, and shaped like needles.<ref name=":6" /> They are shaped nearly round in cross section, and end apiculate, or with a sharp tip.<ref name=":4" /> The leaves are evergreen, heavily sclerified,<ref name=":5" /> and may also come in a sickle-shape.<ref name=":7" /> left|thumb|Flowers. thumb|Budding flowers. The inflorescence is dense to open, up to 17 cm long, and with 1 to 3 bractlets. Flowers are suspended on short pedicels 0 to 1.1 mm long.<ref name=":7" /> The flowers are small, white, and inconspicuous yet showy.<ref name=":6" /> The flowers have 5 petals and 5 calyx lobes, with the calyx lobes alternately arranged around the corolla.<ref name=":4" /> The calyx lobes are wider than they are long.<ref name=":7" /> There are 10 to 15 stamens, which occur in cylindrical to pyramid-shaped panicles at the tips of branches. The terminal clusters of flowers are 2.5 to 10 cm long.<ref name=":6" /> The petals are retained into fruit maturation, turning a rusty brown color.<ref name=":4" /> The hypanthium is 0.8 to 3.2 mm large, and strongly 10-ribbed.<ref name=":7" /> The fruit is a small, ovoid achene, which develops within the hypanthium and disperses with the hypanthium as a single unit.<ref name=":4" />
=== Phytochemistry === Chamise contains terpenoids, which include the monoterpenoids hydroquinone and geranial, the diterpenoids thalianol and thaliandiol, and the triterpenoids 7α-hydroxybaruol and glutinol. Steroids like suberosol and campesterol also exist within the plant.<ref name=":8">Adams, J., Bouttemy, A., Filho, O. R. F., & Williams, T. (2014). Adenostoma Fasciculatum, California Chamise, Chemistry and Use in Skin Conditions. ''Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, NY)'', ''20''(5), A35.</ref> Various chemicals like p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid, vanillic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and arbutin have been identified within the plant.<ref>McPherson, J. K., Chou, C. H., & Muller, C. H. (1971). Allelopathic constituents of the chaparral shrub Adenostoma fasciculatum. ''Phytochemistry'', ''10''(12), 2925-2933.</ref> Furthermore, umbelliferone and phlorizin were found. An unknown triterpenoid known as 7α-hydroxybaruol was first discovered in this plant.<ref name=":8" />
== Taxonomy == Chamise is a member of the Rose family (Rosaceae), within the genus ''Adenostoma''. The only other species in the genus is red-shanks (''Adenostoma sparsifolium''), which grows taller, has red-brown bark, and un-clustered, larger leaves.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Montalvo|first=A.M.|last2=Riordan|first2=E.C.|last3=Beyers|first3=Jan|date=2017|title=Plant profile for Adenostoma fasciculatum|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/beyers/psw_2018_beyers003_montalvo_adenostoma-fasciculatum.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Treesearch|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319074058/https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/beyers/psw_2018_beyers003_montalvo_adenostoma-fasciculatum.pdf |archive-date=2020-03-19 }}</ref> Phylogenetic analysis places ''Adenostoma'' closest to ''Chamaebatiaria'' and ''Sorbaria'', and suggests tentative placement in the subfamily Spiraeoideae, tribe Sorbarieae.<ref name=":4" />
Buckbrush (''Ceanothus cuneatus'') may be confused with chamise, as they both have profuse white flowers and are common in chaparral habitats.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ceanothus cuneatus var. Cuneatus Calflora|url=https://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=1771}}</ref>
=== Etymology and nomenclature === The oily leaves and twigs gave rise to the common name "greasewood." The name ''fasciculatum'' originates from the clustered (fascicled) leaves on the plant.
* '''English''': ''chamise'', ''greasewood''<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Rebman|first=J. P.|last2=Gibson|first2=J.|last3=Rich|first3=K.|date=2016|title=Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Baja California, Mexico|url=http://sdplantatlas.org/pdffiles/BajaChecklist2016.pdf|journal=San Diego Society of Natural History|volume=45|pages=244}}</ref> * '''Ko'alh''': ''{{lang|dih|iipsi}}<ref name=":0">Wilken, Michael A. (2012) ''An Ethnobotany of Baja California's Kumeyaay Indians.'' Retrieved 15 October 2021</ref>'' * '''Kumiai''':'''<nowiki/>''' ''{{lang|dih|iipshi}}'', ''{{lang|dih|i.ipshí}}'', ''{{lang|dih|ipxi}}''<ref name=":0" /> * '''Spanish''': ''{{lang|es|chamizo}}'', ''{{lang|es|chamizo negro}}'',<ref name=":2" /> ''{{lang|es|chamizo prieto}}'',<ref name=":0" /> ''yerba del pasma''<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Pasiecznik|first=Nick|date=28 January 2015|title=Adenostoma fasciculatum (chamise)|url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/3304|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2021|website=CABI Invasive Species Compendium|publisher=CABI International|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320115337/http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/3304 |archive-date=2015-03-20 }}</ref> * '''Tiipai''': ''{{lang|dih|iy pshii}}''<ref name=":0" /> * '''Tongva language''': ''{{lang|xgf|huutah}}''<ref name="tongva2">{{cite web|title=Huutah|url=http://runajambi.org/tongva/chamise.htm|website=Tongva Medicinal Plants}}</ref>
===Varieties=== There are varieties which differ from each other in minor characters; they are not accepted as distinct by all authors.<ref name=":5" /> The following three taxa are recognized in the second edition of The Jepson Manual and the Flora of North America:<ref name=":4" />
* '''''A. f.''''' var. '''''fasciculatum''''' <small>Hook. & Arn.</small> ('''common chamise''', '''California greasewood''') – Leaves 5–10 mm, apex sharp; shoots hairless.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=William|date=2012|title=Adenostoma fasciculatum var. fasciculatum|url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=53568|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Jepson eFlora|publisher=Jepson Flora Project|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629233939/http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu:80/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=53568 |archive-date=2017-06-29 }}</ref> Occurs throughout California and in the northern Peninsular Ranges of Baja California.<ref name=":2" /> * '''''A. f.''''' var. '''''obtusifolium''''' <small>S. Watson</small> ('''San Diego chamise''', '''southern chamise''', '''southern greasewood''') – Leaves 4–6 mm, apex blunt; shoots slightly hairy.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=William|date=2012|title=Adenostoma fasciculatum var. obtusifolium|url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=53569|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Jepson eFlora|publisher=Jepson Flora Project|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829132250/http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=53569 |archive-date=2017-08-29 }}</ref> Found primarily in southern Orange County,<ref name=":4" /> San Diego County<ref name=":6">McMurray, Nancy E. (1990) [https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/adefas/all.html Adenostoma fasciculatum]. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Retrieved 15 October 2021</ref> and Baja California, where it occurs as far south on the coast to El Rosario, but even further south on interior sky islands.<ref name=":2" /> It usually prefers dry mesas or foothills along the coast, but may be found in some Peninsular Range mountains like San Jacinto,<ref name=":4" /> or on the sky islands of the Sierra de La Asamblea and the Sierra de San Borja in the Baja California desert.<ref name=":2" /> * '''''A. f.''''' var. '''''prostratum''''' <small>Dunkle</small> ('''prostrate chamise''', '''carpet chamise''') – Similar to var. ''obtusifolium'', but only grows in a prostrate form less than 0.5 m tall. Found on the Central Coast and Channel Islands, up to 750 m.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=William|date=2012|title=Adenostoma fasciculatum var. prostratum|url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=88853|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2021|website=Jepson eFlora|publisher=Jepson Flora Project|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829141535/http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=88853 |archive-date=2017-08-29 }}</ref>
== Distribution and habitat == left|thumb|The prostrate variety of chamise. Chamise is probably the most widely distributed shrub of the chaparral ecosystem in North America, found throughout California and Baja California.<ref name=":6" /> In California, it occurs from Mendocino County south to San Diego County, and is present in approximately 70% of California chaparral.<ref name=":6" /> It occurs over a wide range of soils, elevations, latitudes, and distances from the coasts, at elevations as high as 1,800 meters. In Baja California, it is found in the Peninsular Ranges of the Sierra de Juarez and Sierra de San Pedro Martir, along with the sky islands of the Sierra de La Asamblea and the Sierra de San Borja in the Central Desert.<ref name=":2" />
This plant is typically found along foothills and coastal mountains, ridges, mesas, and hot, xeric sites.<ref name=":6" /> It dominates dry south and west-facing slopes, and survives in an average temperature range between 0 °C to 38 °C. In the southern Coast Ranges, where annual rainfall may average between 400 and 500 mm, chamise can be found abundantly on all slopes and exposures, and grows on both deep, fertile soils and shallow, rocky soils.<ref name=":6" /> As the amount of precipitation increases with northward latitude, chamise is restricted to poorer soils and drier, exposed sites.<ref name=":6" />
==Ecology==
=== Reproductive biology === Chamise may reproduce both sexually and vegetatively. Seedling recruitment and population expansion is typically reliant on wildfire, but a dimorphic population of both dormant and as well as germinable seeds are prepared to sprout in suitable conditions.<ref name=":6" /> The seeds are shade intolerant, only emerging where there are openings in the canopy. Seed production in mature shrubs does not decrease relative to the age of plants.<ref name=":4" /> Vegetative reproduction is by canopy rejuvenation from the burl, via the production of new basal sprouts, which may be induced by fire or mechanical means.<ref name=":6" /> Although the plants regenerate vegetatively, they do not ''spread'' vegetatively.<ref name=":4" />
Chamise tends to have a high proportion of sterile fruits. This may be due to under-pollination, limited resources, or consequences of a high genetic load. Chamise is a self-incompatible plant, and allozyme analysis of chamise populations have shown a high rate of outcrossing.<ref name=":4" /> [[File:Chamise resprout Mag Road III.jpg|thumb|Chamise resprouting after a high-intensity wildfire in San Diego County]] Dormant seeds tend to accumulate in the soil, until they are disturbed by a wildfire.<ref name=":6" /> Around 90% of seeds will germinate after exposure to fire, but establishment from seeds is episodic. Seedling survival rates will decrease substantially following a fire, with only up to 1% of seedlings surviving five years after a fire. Second year survival after fires for seedlings seems to be much higher in Southern California, at about 50 to 62%. Seedling growth occurs in late winter and spring, and plants grown from seed reach reproductive maturity within three to four years. However, most postfire seedlings may fail to even reach maturity after germination, being negatively correlated with the regeneration of the burls. Many seedlings will fail after finding themselves in competition with healthy burls after a fire.<ref name=":4" />
=== Seasonal development === The plant flowers from April to June, peaking in May. Growth is typically initiated in January, speeding up in March, peaking in May, and then ending in July. Root growth follows a similar pattern, but fine roots may grow following summer rain events. Plants can remain physiologically active in summer drought due to their deep tap roots being able to bring up moisture deep within the earth, and because their fine shallow roots are able to make quick use of infrequent moisture. Plants that have been burned to the burl may continue to expend growth even into summer.<ref name=":4" />
Upon fruit dispersal in summer, any old inflorescences are shed, and new growth becomes woody. The production of the next inflorescences and flowers continues even in conditions of drought or extreme heat, owing to the storage of nutrients in the burl that enable the plant to continue production of the sexual organs. New foliage is also not limited to drought conditions or young stems, with leaves emerging from stems up to 8 or 9 years old. The leaves are retained for up to two growing seasons. Production of the sexual organs is usually prioritized over the development of new branches or foliage.<ref name=":6" />
=== Habitat ecology === Chamise forms dense, monotypic stands that cover the dry hills of coastal California. These thickets of chamise are sometimes called '''chamissal'''<ref name=":5" /> or '''chamise chaparral'''.<ref name=":3" /> In this chaparral type toyon,<ref>{{cite web|author=C. Michael Hogan|year=2008|editor=N. Stromberg|title=Toyon ''(Heteromeles arbutifolia)''|url=http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=84109&lang=us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719220426/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=84109&lang=us|archive-date=2009-07-19|website=Global Twitcher}}</ref> scrub oak, ceanothus and manzanita may also be co-dominant.<ref name=":3" /> [[File:Adenostomafasciculatum.jpg|left|thumb|Flowering in Poway, California.]] It is very drought tolerant and adaptable, with the ability to grow in nutrient-poor, barren soil and on exposed, dry, rocky outcrops. It can be found in serpentine soils and south-facing slopes, 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 wildfires, 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.<ref name=":4" />
Chamise is an important plant for wildlife. After wildfires, the resprouting chamise may provide nearly all of the available forage for animals. Chamise sprouts are browsed by mule deer and likely rabbits, but may be unpalatable to other mammals. Dusky-footed woodrats will store the bark and leaves as food in their nests year-round. Chamise and chamissal provides habitat and cover for nesting birds, mule deer, and sensitive species of wildlife such as the orange-throated whiptail lizard, and the California gnatcatcher.<ref name=":4" />
==Uses==
=== Ethnobotany ===
==== Tongva ==== The plant is considered a useful medicinal plant by the Tongva who know the plant as ''huutah''. They use the oils from the twigs and leaves and make a strong tea from the bark for the treatment of skin infections. For sores and snakebites, the leaves and twigs are ground into a powder and mixed with animal grease and applied. The branches and leaves may be boiled which produces a liquid that can be used to bathe sore, swollen, or infected parts of the body. Huutah is also made into a tea to relieve cramps, ulcers, and chest ailments.<ref name="tongva2" />
==== Kumeyaay ==== thumb|A botanical illustration of the plant. The Kumeyaay and associated peoples have numerous uses for chamise, which they call ''iipsi'' or ''iipshi''. The presence of the flammable oils in the leaves and stems make the sticks an excellent choice for kindling. The tough lignotuber, or the burl, is valued for creating long-lasting and high quality charcoal when burned. The Kumeyaay also used chamise for making hardwood points of arrows. The chamise-wood point would be pressed or glued with pinyon pine pitch into a shaft made out of arrowweed, California sunflower, or mulefat. Fire was used to harden the wooden points, which allegedly made it as hard as iron as when done correctly.<ref name=":0" />
The plant is also used by many other Native Americans including the Cahuilla, Chumash and the Ohlone.<ref name="naeb2">{{cite web|title=Adenostoma fasciculatum|url=http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/66/|website=Native American Ethnobotany Database}}</ref>
=== Medicinal === Chamise is useful for treating eczema and skin conditions caused by chafing and irritation. Psoriasis plaques do not seem to respond well to chamise treatment, but this treatment reportedly improved discomfort and dryness.<ref name=":8" /> A balm is made by placing 50 grams of branches and leaves into 2 liters of extra virgin olive oil to infuse for 1 month. Then the olive oil is poured into a mixing bowl and 135 grams of beeswax is melted and thoroughly mixed in a water bath at 75 degrees Celsius. The mixture is then poured into 35 milliliter containers and allowed to harden into a balm. The balm can be rubbed with the finger tips and used as needed daily on rashes and lesions on the skin.<ref name="adamstraditionalhealing20142">{{cite journal|last1=Adams|first1=JD|year=2014|title=What can traditional healing do for modern medicine|url=http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201417048539211.pdf|journal=Tang (Humanitas Medicine)|volume=4|issue=2|pages=9.1–9.6|doi=10.5667/tang.2014.0006|doi-access=free|s2cid=72461373}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}}
* [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/adefas/all.html Ecology of ''Adenostoma fasciculatum''] * [https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=11939 Jepson Manual Treatment] * [http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/chamise.html ''Adenostoma fasciculatum'' (Chamise) — photos] {{Taxonbar|from=Q627027}}
fasciculatum Category:Flora of Baja California Category:Flora of California Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Category:Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Category:Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Category:Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Category:Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Category:Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Category:Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status