Ericameria nauseosa

Ericameria nauseosa

Common name:

Gray Rabbitbrush

Rubber Rabbitbrush

Chamisa

Pronunciation:

er-ik-kam-MEER-ee-uh NO-zhe-o-sah

Family:

Asteraceae

Genus:

Synonyms:

Chrysothamnus nauseosus

Type:

Broadleaf

Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:

Yes

Evergreen shrub (deciduous in colder zones), erect, slender stems, to 7 ft (2 m) tall, rounded. Twigs grayish to yellow, when cut they exude a milky latex that contains chrysil, a high grade rubber which vulcanizes easily. Leaves alternate, simple, 1-6 cm long, about 1-2 mm wide, linear, often garyish-green, covered with a woolly (tomentose) or soft pubescence on both surfaces (see below), petiole absent (sessile). Flowers golden-yellow, pungent-smelling, in terminal rounded clusters; each flower head has 5 tubular flowers. Fruit a smooth or minutely hairy, 5-ribbed, achene. Note: leaf and flower characters vary considerably among the subspecies of E. nauseosa; Gray forms have tomentose involucres (bracts subtending the flower cluster) and gray to whitish foliage and stems, whereas Green forms are characterized by glabrous involucres and greenish leaves and stems.

Sun. Drought resistant, has a deep taproot and little or no supplemental water required, also resistant to salt stress, low-care. The white/gray foliage, abundant flowering, and tolerance for poor conditionsmakes gray rabbitbrush well suited for desert landscaping. If watered in the landscape the plant can become rank, floppy and unattractive. Best with no maintenance except yearly shearing.

Hardy to USDA Zone 3 Native range extends from southern British Columbia through Saskatchewan, south through the Great Plains to northern Mexico, and west to the Pacific Ocean. Well adapted to arid situations and often found along with sagebrush.

The "gray" and "green" groups (see above) were formalized as subspp. nauseosa and consimilis by G. L. Nesom and G. I. Baird (1993), each containing a number of varieties (Flora of North America).

nauseosus: disagreeable flavor or odor. The "smell given off when the leaves or flowers are crushed, described as pineapple-like by some and foul and rubbery by others" (USDA, Forest Service).

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Landscape Plants