Ericameria nauseosa

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Chrysothamnus nauseosus 7991.jpg |image_caption = ''Ericameria nauseosa'' in Oregon |status = {{TNCStatus}} |status_system = TNC |genus = Ericameria |species = nauseosa |authority = (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird |synonyms_ref = <ref name=u/> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title=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|thumb|250px|Volunteer chamisa in the landscaping of the post office in Crestone, Colorado]] thumb|right|150px|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 shrub in the sunflower family (Aster) found in the arid regions of western North America.

Two subspecies have been described, ''consimilis'' (the green form with 8 varieties) and ''nauseosa'' (the gray form with 14 varieties).<ref name=Nesom>Completion of ''Ericameria'' (Asteraceae: Astereae): diminution of ''Chrysothamnus'' 1993 Phytologia 75: 74–93, G. L. Nesom, G.I. Baird.</ref>

==Description== ''Ericameria nauseosa'' is a perennial shrub that can be as short at {{Convert|10|cm|0|sp=us}} or as tall as {{Convert|2.5|m|sp=us}},<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Urbatsch |first1=Lowell E. |last2=Anderson |first2=Loran C. |last3=Roberts |first3=Roland P. |last4=Neubig |first4=Kurt M. |date=6 November 2020 |orig-date=In print 2006 |url=https://floranorthamerica.org/Ericameria_nauseosa |title=''Ericameria nauseosa'' |website=Flora of North America |page=62 |language=en |isbn=978-0-19-530564-7 |oclc=179887072 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217083721/https://floranorthamerica.org/Ericameria_nauseosa |archive-date=17 February 2025 |access-date=9 December 2025}}</ref> however it is generally {{Cvt|2 to 5|ft|m|1|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rubber Rabbitbrush |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/ericameria_nauseosa.shtml |access-date=10 December 2025 |website=www.fs.usda.gov}}</ref> The leaves, depending on the subspecies, are {{Convert|2-7.5|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} long<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/365/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=365–366 |orig-date=1979}}</ref> and narrow to spatula-shaped. Both the flexible (rubbery) stems and the leaves are greenish-gray with a soft felt-like covering.<ref name="d">[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250066527 Flora of North America, Rabbitbrush, ''Ericameria nauseosa'' (Pallas ex Pursh) G. L. Nesom & G. I. Baird]</ref>

It blooms from August to October<ref name="WS">[http://www.wildflowersearch.com/search?PlantName=Ericameria+nauseosa WildflowerSearch.com: Ericameria nauseosa].</ref> and produces pungent-smelling, golden-yellow flowers. The flower heads are {{Convert|6-13|mm|frac=4}} long<ref name=":1" /> and made up of 5 small, yellow, tubular disk flowers, and occur in umbrella-shaped terminal clusters.<ref>{{cite web | last = Malaby | first = Sarah | title = Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L. Nesom & Baird) | publisher = US Forest Service | url = http://gis.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/ericameria_nauseosa.shtml | access-date = 2010-10-22 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111020152400/http://gis.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/ericameria_nauseosa.shtml | archive-date = 2011-10-20 }}</ref><ref name=d/> The shrub reproduces from seeds and root sprouts.<ref name="d" />

==Taxonomy== Rubber rabbitbrush was moved from the genus ''Chrysothamnus'' to the genus ''Ericameria'' in a 1993 paper.<ref name="Nesom" /> The findings of a 2003 phylogenetic investigation of ''Ericameria'' were consistent with the move of the species to ''Ericameria''.<ref>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</ref> The second edition of the Jepson plant manual<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-03-11 |title=The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California (2nd Edition), Ericameria nauseosa |url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/errata.html |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=The Jepson Herbarium |publisher=University of California, Berkeley}}</ref> and the United States Department of Agriculture's Germplasm Resources Information Network<ref>{{GRIN|accessdate=21 December 2017}}</ref> have adopted the name ''Ericameria nauseosa''.

The specific epithet means 'heavy scented'.<ref name="Sagebrush">{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Ronald J. |title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary |publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co |year=1994 |isbn=0-87842-280-3 |edition=rev. |location=Missoula, MT |pages=144 |language=en |oclc=25708726 |orig-year=1992}}</ref>

=== Subspecies and varieties === Recognized infraspecific taxa from The Plant List<ref name="u">[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Ericameria+nauseosa The Plant List, ''Ericameria nauseosa'' (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L.Nesom & G.I.Baird ]</ref> with distribution information from ''Flora of North America''<ref name="d" /> and Tropicos:<ref>[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50086523 Tropicos, ''Ericameria nauseosa'' (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L. Nesom & G.I. Baird ]</ref> * ''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<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9182302#page/888/mode/1up Anderson, Loran Crittendon 2006. Sida 22(2): 868–872] diagnosis in Latin, description and commentary in English, color photo on page 869</ref> ** ''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

==Distribution and habitat== It grows in the arid regions of western Canada, western United States (from the western Great Plains to the Pacific) and northern Mexico.<ref>[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ericameria%20nauseosa.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]</ref>

==Ecology== Along with associated species, like big sage and western wheat grass, rubber rabbitbrush is only lightly or occasionally used by herbivores during the summer. However, it can be heavily used during the winter when other food sources are scarce and on depleted rangelands.<ref name="FEIS">{{cite web |last1=Tirmenstein |first1=D. |title=Species: Ericameria nauseosa |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/erinau/all.html |website=Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory |access-date=23 May 2023 |date=1999}}</ref><ref name="usu" /> Some of the species that consume it include mule deer, elk, pronghorns, and black-tailed jackrabbits. It is considered poor forage for almost all domestic animals, though sheep are reported to consume significant amounts of it in Utah.<ref name="FEIS" /> It is also frequently used as shelter by jackrabbits.<ref name="Jewels" /> Dense stands of this species often grow on poorly managed rangelands, in disturbed areas along roadways and on abandoned agricultural property.<ref name="usu">[http://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/htm/rubber-rabbitbrush/ Utah State University Extension] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508061342/http://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/htm/rubber-rabbitbrush |date=2009-05-08}}.</ref>

The species often occurs with ''Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus''.<ref name="Sagebrush" />

==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.<ref name="rsutton">Wendy Mee et al. ''Waterwise, Native Plants for Intermountain Landscapes''. [http://usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=5617 Utah State University Press, 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906032424/http://www.usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=5617|date=2007-09-06}}.</ref> The varieties ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''nauseosa'' and ''Ericameria nauseosa'' var. ''speciosa'' are especially valued as they rarely exceed 24 inches and will often only reach a foot in height. Gardeners appreciate the enthusiastic late season blooms as well as the foliage.<ref name="Jewels">{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Claude A. |title=Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills |date=1983 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=0-8166-1127-0 |pages=57–59}}</ref>

== 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, absorbing strontium in place of calcium due to their similar chemical properties. According to Joseph Masco, the radioactive shrubs are "indistinguishable from other shrubs without a Geiger counter."<ref name="masco">Masco, Joseph. ''The Nuclear Borderlands: The Manhattan Project in Post-Cold War New Mexico''. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8185.html Princeton University Press, 2006].</ref>

== Uses == The Zuni people use the blossoms ''bigelovii'' variety of the ''nauseosa'' subspecies to make a yellow dye.<ref>Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30, p.80</ref> They use the stems to make baskets.<ref>Stevenson p.81</ref> The Navajo also made a yellow dye from some of the flower heads.<ref name=":1" /> Native Americans of the southwest would also cook the leaves of the plant with cornmeal to raise the bread.

===Possible commercial uses=== Rubber rabbitbrush was considered as a source of rubber as early as 1904.<ref>{{cite book | last =Hall | first =Harvey | title = A rubber plant survey of western North America, Volume 7, page 186 | publisher = University of California | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dI4UAAAAYAAJ&q=Hall%20and%20Goodspeed%201919&pg=PA186 | date=2010-11-06 }}</ref> 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 in 1987.<ref>Resin and Rubber Content in Chrysothmnus 1987 Dale Hegerhorst, Darrell W. Weber E. Durant McArthur The Southwestern Naturalist 32(4):475–482</ref> Between 2005 and 2008, the University of Nevada researched possible material applications of rubber rabbitbrush.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rabbit Brush: A New High Value Rubber Crop for Nevada |url=http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/204073.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310112018/http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/204073.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2010 |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=National Institute of Food and Agriculture |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture}}</ref> One possible commercial use of the species would be as a source for hypoallergenic rubber for use in products designed for people with latex allergies.<ref>{{cite web | title = Nevada Dividends Impact Report Rabbit Brush Potential for Domestic Rubber Production | publisher = University of Nevada, Reno | url = http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/NAES/Impact_Details.aspx?ImpactID=91 | date=2010-11-06 }}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:NativeRabbitBush.JPG|Rabbitbrush native to the area near the post office in Crestone, Colorado File:RabbitBushBlooms.JPG|Blooms of the decorative rabbitbrush used at the Crestone post office. File:rubber rabbitbrush 01.jpg|Rubber rabbitbrush in Utah File:Ericameria nauseosa.jpg|At Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Wikispecies-inline|Ericameria nauseosa|''Ericameria nauseosa''}} *{{Commons-inline|italic=1}} * [https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ERNA10 United States Department of Agribulture Profile: ''Ericameria nauseosa''] * [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?Ericameria+nauseosa+var.+oreophila Jepson Manual – ''Ericameria nauseosa''] * [http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=9913 ''Ericameria nauseosa'' Calflora Photo Gallery, University of California] * [http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/ofp/eri_nau.htm ''Ericameria nauseosa'' Oregon Flora Image Project] * https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/ericameria_nauseosa.shtml

nauseo Category:Fiber plants Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States Category:Flora of Western Canada Category:Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Category:Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Category:Plant dyes Category:Garden plants of North America Category:Drought-tolerant plants Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status