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Burrobrush [Cheesebush] (Hymenoclea salsola)
Shrubs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)

General: Burrobrush (Hymenoclea salsola), commonly called Cheesebush or Cheeseweed, is an upright, spreading shrub with many thin stems that bend down to the ground and narrow, threadlike leaves. The common name, Cheesebush, comes from the pungent odor of the crushed leaves. The common name, Burrobrush, comes from the thought that burros like to eat this plant.

Burrobrush is a common component of shrub communities in disturbed areas such as along washes and roads on desert flats, bajadas, and lower montane slopes in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: Cheeseweed, cheesebush, white burrobush, Ambrosia salsola.

Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)

Plant Form: Upright shrub or spreading with thin twigs.

Height: Usually knee to thigh-high; to 6-feet tall.

Bark: Green, aging to tan.

Stems: Thin, upright, arising from a single base, branched throughout, often arching out and bending down to the ground.

Leaves: Leaves generally alternate, entire, threadlike (filiform), dark green, sometimes with three to five threadlike lobes. Pungent odor when crushed.

Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Female flower with developing fruit

Flowers: In separate staminate and pistillate heads. Staminate heads: many, in spiked clusters. Pistillate heads: individual flowers, beaked; fruit winged.

Seeds: Enclosed in winged bur.

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on desert flats, washes, bajadas, and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.

Elevation: To about 6,000 feet.

Distribution: California to southwestern Utah and Arizona, south into northwestern Mexico.

Comments:

Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola) Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola) Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Cheesebush: a tangle of interlocking stems
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Cheesebush: a tangle of interlocking green stems and threadlike leaves
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Long, threadlike leaves
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Long, threadlike leaves
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Threadlike leaves sometimes with 3-5 lobes
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Long, narrow leaves and flower buds
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Long, narrow leaves and flower buds
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Long, narrow leaves and flower buds
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola) Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Male flower buds
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Male flower buds
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Male flowers with yellow stamens and female flowers at right
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Male flowers with yellow stamens and female flowers at right
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Female flowers
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Female flowers
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Female flowers
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Female flowers
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Female flower with developing fruit
Burrobrush (Cheeseweed) (Hymenoclea salsola)
Two fully developed fruits
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Ripe fruits
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Ripe fruits
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Cheeseweed seeds on the ground
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Cheeseweed seeds on the ground
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Spent Cheeseweed flowers on the ground
Burrobrush, Cheeseweed (Hymenoclea salsola)
Spent Cheeseweed flowers on the ground

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 220813

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