Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is an American species of shrub in the family Asteraceae known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.
Description Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus grows up to about in height, with spreading, brittle, pale stem branches. The leaves are up to a few centimeters long and may be thin and thread-like or up to 1 cm wide and oblong. They are glandular, resinous, and sticky.
The inflorescence is a bushy cluster of flower heads, each head 0.5–1 cm long. The flower head is lined with sticky yellow-green phyllaries and contains several yellowish protruding flowers.
The fruit is a hairy achene a few millimeters long with a wispy pappus at the tip.Flora of North America, Yellow or sticky-leaf rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (Hooker) Nuttall
Subspecies and varieties Subspecies and varieties include:Subspecies and varieties recognized by USDA — Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus Subordinate Taxa . accessed 5 September 2015Subspecies recognized by Calflora Database for Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus . accessed 5 September 2015Subspecies recognized by The Plant List, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, Kew Gardens, London.Subspecies distributions from Flora of North America. Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. axillaris (D.D.Keck) L.C.Anderson — desert slopes in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. lanceolatus (Nutt.) H.M.Hall & Clem. — Pennington County in South Dakota Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. planifolius L.C.Anderson — Arizona Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. puberulus (D.C.Eaton) H.M.Hall & Clem. — alpine zones in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. viscidiflorus — alpine talus in most of the species range Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. latifolius Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. serrulatus (Torr.) Greene — Utah, NevadaGreene, Edward Lee 1895. Erythea 3(6): 96 Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. stenophyllus Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. viscidiflorus
Chemistry Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus contains an unusual m-hydroxyacetophenone derivative, named viscidone, and chromanone derivatives.
Distribution and habitat The plant is widespread in North America across much of the western United States and western Canada, from British Columbia and Montana south to California and New Mexico, with a few populations in the Black Hills of South Dakota and in western Nebraska,Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map as well as in South America in the Andean valleys of Chile and Argentina.
The species grows in sagebrush and woodland habitat. It grows easily in alkaline and saline soils, and thrives on soils that are rich in calcium. It rapidly establishes in disturbed habitat, including burns, flooded washes, and rockslides, so it is a valuable shrub for revegetating damaged land such as overgrazed rangeland and abandoned mining areas.
Ecology
It is a larval host to the sagebrush checkerspot and it is an important nectar source in the fall.The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press. Range animals such as deer and antelope browse the foliage. It often occurs with Ericameria nauseosa.
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus plants are typically killed by fire, but can resprout with sufficient energy reserves, and their windborne seeds can blow into a burned area and sprout vigorously. The numbers of plants often increase shortly after a fire and can dominate the landscape, but decreases as Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush) recolonizes an area.
References
External links USDA Plants profile for Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (yellow rabbitbrush) CalFlora database: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (green rabbitbrush, stickyleaf rabbitbrush, yellow rabbitbrush) — with subspecies links
NPIN−Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus Flora of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Idaho: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus Southwest Colorado Wildflowers Goldenweeds and Rabbitbrush Found East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. lanceolatus — (green rabbitbrush, lanceleaf rabbitbrush, yellow rabbitbrush) University of California, Calphotos photo gallery — Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus