Rabbit-Brush
Rabbit-brush is a grasslands shrub that grows up to 1 meter high.
- Common rabbit-brush (Ericameria nauseosus) is a perennial shrub with multiple woody stems.
- The stems are “woolly”, covered with hairs.
- Leaves are threadlike, long, and covered in dense grey hairs.
- Small yellow flowers bloom in late summer.
- Dense clusters form at the branch tips.
- Photos by the author, except where noted. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
- After flowering, seeds form. They are usually bristly.
- In the Kamloops area, rabbitbrush is extensive in the lower valleys, in sagebrush grasslands and up to the edge of the forests.
- Sometimes called Chrysothamnus (golden-crowned) nauseosus.
- A similar species is green or yellow rabbitbrush.
- Rabbitbrush is used by various butterflies as a host plant and it is browsed by deer.