Chrysothamnus molestus

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Chrysothamnus molestus
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Chrysothamnus
Species:
C. molestus
Binomial name
Chrysothamnus molestus
Synonyms [2]
  • Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. molestusS.F.Blake
  • Ericameria molesta(S.F.Blake) L.C.Anderson

Chrysothamnus molestus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Arizona rabbitbrush, Tusayan rabbitbrush, disturbed rabbitbrush, and stickyfruit low rabbitbrush. It is endemic to the State of Arizona in the southwestern United States, where it is known from Coconino, Apache, and Navajo Counties. [1] [3]

This plant is a low shrub or subshrub up to about 20 centimeters high, growing from a woody, branching caudex. [4] The plants are often cropped low by grazing animals. [5] The bark on the woody part is dark gray and fibrous, and the stems are green and glandular. The leaves are up to 2 centimeters long and under 2 millimeters wide. The blades are hairy and glandular. The inflorescence is an array of nearly cylindrical flower heads each containing five yellow disc florets but no ray florets. Many flowers are produced after times of stress. Blooming typically occurs in August through October. [5] The fruit is over a centimeter long including its pappus. [4]

This is the only Chrysothamnus endemic to Arizona. One population is located between the rim of the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, and the others are within the Navajo Nation. [5] The habitat is pinyon-juniper grassland, almost always with limestone soils. [6] Associated plants include Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush), Atriplex canescens (four-wing saltbush), Berberis fremontii (barberry), Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama), Krascheninnikovia lanata (winterfat), Chrysothamnus depressus (dwarf rabbitbrush), C. greenei (Greene rabbit-bush), C. viscidiflorus (sticky-leaf rabbit-brush), Gutierrezia sarothrae (broom snakeweed), Koeleria pyramidata (junegrass), Juniperus sp. (juniper), Oryzopsis hymenoides (Indian mountain-ricegrass), Pinus sp. (pine), Poa fendleriana (muttongrass), Purshia stansburiana (Stansbury cliffrose), Quercus gambelii (Gambel oak), and Tetradymia sp. (horsebush). [5]

Threats to this species include grazing by livestock such as cattle and by wildlife such as elk. Another threat is low recruitment. The reason for this is not well known. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Chrysothamnus</i>

Chrysothamnus, known as rabbitbrush, rabbitbush, and chamisa, are shrubs in the sunflower family. The native distribution is in the arid western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. It is known for its bright white or yellow flowers in late summer.

<i>Ericameria</i>

Ericameria is a genus of North American shrubs in the daisy family.

<i>Ericameria nauseosa</i>

Ericameria nauseosa, commonly known as Chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a North American shrub in the sunflower family (Aster). It grows in the arid regions of western Canada, western United States and northern Mexico.

<i>Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus</i>

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the daisy family of the Americas known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.

<i>Chrysopsis floridana</i> Species of plant

Chrysopsis floridana is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family, known by its common name, Florida golden aster. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is known from Hillsborough, Hardee, Manatee, and Pinellas Counties. It is considered an endemic of the west-central coast of the state in the general vicinity of Tampa Bay. There are 17 to 20 occurrences, many of which have few individuals, but one of which has over one million plants. In 1986 the plant was added to the US endangered species list because it was becoming increasingly rare, it was growing only on private property, and its habitat was unprotected and being destroyed and degraded by a number of forces. It is found at Bell Creek Nature Preserve in Riverview, Florida.

<i>Erigeron rhizomatus</i>

Erigeron rhizomatus is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Zuni fleabane and rhizome fleabane. It is native to western New Mexico and eastern Arizona in the United States. It is a federally listed threatened species.

<i>Mirabilis macfarlanei</i>

Mirabilis macfarlanei is a rare species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name MacFarlane's four o'clock. It is native to Idaho and Oregon in the United States, where it is only known from three river canyons. It faces a number of threats and is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.

<i>Phacelia argillacea</i> Species of plant

Phacelia argillacea is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names clay phacelia and Atwood's phacelia. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from one canyon in Utah County. It is "one of Utah's most endangered species"; it is "one of the nation's rarest plants" and is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.

<i>Sclerocactus glaucus</i>

Sclerocactus glaucus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Colorado hookless cactus. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the area between Grand Junction and Montrose. It is a federally listed threatened species.

<i>Townsendia aprica</i>

Townsendia aprica is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Last Chance Townsend daisy. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known from three counties. It faces a number of threats and it is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

Herrickia horrida is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name horrid herrickia. It is native to Colorado and New Mexico in the United States, where it occurs only in the Animas River basin. It is often included in genus Eurybia.

<i>Ericameria paniculata</i>

Ericameria paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family Asteraceae, native to the southwestern United States. It is an evergreen yellow-flowered desert shrub.

Eriogonum crosbyae is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Crosby's buckwheat. It is native to southcentral Oregon and northwestern Nevada in the United States. Some treatments include plants in Montana and Idaho as members of this species. This plant was first discovered in the Guano Valley in Lake County, Oregon, in 1978 by Bureau of Land Management botanist Virginia Crosby, and it was named for her in 1981.

<i>Aliciella caespitosa</i>

Aliciella caespitosa is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names Rabbit Valley gilia and Wonderland Alice-flower. It is endemic to Utah, where it is known only from Wayne County.

<i>Penstemon gibbensii</i>

Penstemon gibbensii is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Gibbens' beardtongue. It is native to the western United States, where it occurs in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.

<i>Xanthisma coloradoense</i>

Xanthisma coloradoense is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Colorado tansyaster. It is native to Colorado and Wyoming in the United States.

<i>Ericameria parryi</i>

Ericameria parryi is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Parry's rabbitbrush. It is native to much of the western United States.

<i>Penstemon eriantherus</i>

Penstemon eriantherus is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names fuzzytongue penstemon and crested beardtongue. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the northwestern and north-central United States.

Chrysothamnus depressus called long-flowered rabbitbrush, is a North American species of flowering plants in the aster tribe within the sunflower family. It is native to the southwestern United States, the States of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. It grows in dry canyons, rocky crevices and similar habitats in the Mohave Desert, the Colorado Plateau, etc.

Chrysothamnus eremobius, the Pintwater rabbitbrush , is a rare North American species of flowering plants in the aster tribe within the sunflower family. It has been found only in the Pintwater and Sheep Ranges of Clark and Lincoln Counties in southern Nevada.

References

  1. 1 2 Chrysothamnus molestus. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. The Plant List, Chrysothamnus molestus (S.F.Blake) L.C.Anderson
  3. Anderson, L. C. and B. Hevron. (1993). New records and data for the rare Chrysothamnus molestus in Arizona. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 27(1) 1-4.
  4. 1 2 Chrysothamnus molestus. Flora of North America.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Chrysothamnus molestus. Archived 2010-12-30 at the Wayback Machine Arizona Game and Fish Department.
  6. Chrysothamnus molestus. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.