Chrysothamnus axillaris D.D.Keck, syn of subsp. axillaris
Chrysothamnus elegans Greene,[1] syn of subsp. lanceolatus
Chrysothamnus lanceolatus Nutt., syn of subsp. lanceolatus
Chrysothamnus marianus Rydb., syn of subsp. puberulus
Chrysothamnus puberulus (D.C.Eaton) Greene, syn of subsp. puberulus
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 150 centimeters (5 feet) 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.[3]
The species grows in sagebrush and woodland habitat.[3] It grows easily in alkaline and saline soils, and thrives on soils that are rich in calcium.[15] It rapidly establishes in disturbed habitat, including burns, flooded washes, and rockslides, so it is a valuable shrub for revegetating damaged land such as overgrazedrangeland and abandoned mining areas.[15]
Ecology
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus ssp. lanceolatus resprouting from roots that survived a wildfire in eastern Washington
It is a larval host to the sagebrush checkerspot and it is an important nectar source in the fall.[16] Range animals such as deer and antelope browse the foliage.[17] It often occurs with Ericameria nauseosa.[17]
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus plants are typically killed by fire, but can resprout with sufficient energy reserves, and their windborn seeds can blow into a burned area and sprout vigorously.[18] 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.[18]
^Ngo, le-van; Thi, Van Cuong Pham (1981). "An unusual m-hydroxyacetophenone and three new chromanone derivatives from Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus". Phytochemistry. 20 (3): 485. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)84171-0.