General: The Rabbitbrushes (Chrysothamnus spp. and Ericameria spp.) are upright, usually thigh-high shrubs with green stems and small leaves that produce dense, yellow flowerheads at the top of the shrub during fall. There are seven species of rabbitbrush in Nevada.

Rabbitbrush is a common component of wash communities and other less-dry areas in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone. Some Rabbitbrush species thrive in disturbed areas, so keep an eye out along roadsides such as those on Mt. Charleston (Rubber Rabbitbrush).

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: Each species has a common name.

Plant Form: Upright shrub with many, green stems

Height: Usually knee- to waist-high, occasionally head-high.

Bark: New bark is green; older bark is light gray.

Stems: Erect.

Leaves: Narrow (to 3 inches long and 1/3 inch wide), green.

Flowers: Blooms in the fall. Inflorescence: many dense heads of tiny yellow flowers, sometimes covering the entire top of the shrub. Ripens to brown, fluffy flowerheads atop the plant.

Seeds: Small, hairy achene (like a tiny sunflower seed).

Habitat: Sandy and gravelly soils in and along washes.

Elevation: 3,000 to 10,000+ feet

Distribution: Western North America from British Columbia to Baja California.

Comments: Two of the more common rabbitbrush species that occur in the mountains of southern Nevada are Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) and Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus [Ericameria nauseosa]). Black-banded Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus paniculatus [Mojave Rabbitbrush, Ericameria paniculata]) is common in desert washes.