| Purshia glandulosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Purshia |
| Species: | P. glandulosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Purshia glandulosa | |
Purshia glandulosa is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names antelope bitterbrush, desert bitterbrush, Mojave antelope brush, [1] and cliff-rose.
The plant is endemic to the southwestern United States, where it occurs in California, Arizona, southern Nevada, and Utah. [2] [3] It is found in the Great Basin region, Mojave Desert, and chaparral-sagebrush scrub ecotone in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountains, Eastern Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges. [4] Other habitats include pinyon-juniper woodland, conifer forest, and Joshua tree woodland. [4]
This species arose via hybridization between Purshia stansburiana (Stansbury cliffrose) and Purshia tridentata (antelope bitterbrush) . It is sometimes considered a variety of the latter species. It can hybridize with both of its parent species. [3]
This plant can grow on many types of soils, mainly those that are well-drained. It can grow on sites that have little soil, such as rock outcrops, and it is a pioneer species of eroded rock habitat. It does not tolerate large amounts of water, especially in the summer, and it favors areas that have an annual precipitation around 10 inches. It is tolerant of fire, layering and resprouting easily after its aboveground parts burn. [3] The varieties grow from 500–3,500 metres (1,600–11,500 ft).
Purshia glandulosa is an evergreen shrub growing up to 4.5 metres (15 ft) tall, but often remaining smaller depending on environmental conditions. It has a deep taproot which may extend nearly 5 metres (16 ft) deep in the soil, an adaptation to drought. At times, the plant produces root nodules where it can fix nitrogen.
The flowers are white and fragranced. The bloom period can range from February through June, depending on the variety. [4]
It reproduces by seed, by layering, and by resprouting from its root crown. It can also regenerate from root bits that are severed several feet below ground. Regeneration from seed is relatively uncommon, because its seeds have low rates of germination and they do not easily yield seedlings that will survive. The seeds have a very hard coat and germinate better if they are stratified. Also, the plant does not produce seed until it is approximately 10 years old. [3]
Named varieties of the species include:
The Navajo, Klamath, Paiute, Shoshoni, and other Native American tribes used it as a traditional medicinal plant. [9] The bark of the tree was used as a trade item by the Navajo, primarily for its use in blending with animal fur for the production of clothing and in making bedding material, as well as for making infant cradle boards. [10]
The plant is a good forage for wild ungulates such as pronghorn, as well as livestock. It is not deciduous, so its foliage is available to animals in the winter. [3]
Artemisia tridentata, commonly called big sagebrush, Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in arid and semi-arid conditions, throughout a range of cold desert, steppe, and mountain habitats in the Intermountain West of North America. The vernacular name "sagebrush" is also used for several related members of the genus Artemisia, such as California sagebrush.
Erigeron concinnus, the Navajo fleabane, tidy fleabane or hairy daisy, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Chaenactis xantiana, the Mojave pincushion or Xantus pincushion, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the western United States, from southeastern Oregon, Nevada, southern and eastern California and northwestern Arizona. It is very common in the Antelope Valley in the Mojave Desert, and grows in sandy soils.
Purshia is a small genus of 5–8 species of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae which are native to western North America.
Purshia tridentata, with the common name bitterbrush, is a shrub in the genus Purshia of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America.
Isocoma acradenia is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name alkali goldenbush.
Calochortus kennedyi is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name desert mariposa lily.
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is a species of shrub in the family Asteraceae of the Americas known by the common names yellow rabbitbrush and green rabbitbrush.
Leptosiphon aureus is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name golden linanthus.
Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a biome found at higher elevations near deserts in the Western United States, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers, pinyon pines, and their associates which vary from region to region. The woodland's density and crown height varies dramatically, with mature trees ranging in height from as low as 2 meters up to 15 meters. At lower elevations, junipers often predominate and trees are spaced widely, bordering on and mingling with grassland or shrubland. As elevation increases, pinyon pines become common and trees grow closer, forming denser canopies. Historically, pinyon-juniper woodland has provided a vital source of fuel and food for peoples of the American Southwest.
Orobanche californica, known by the common name California broomrape, is a species of broomrape. It is a parasitic plant growing attached to the roots of other plants, usually members of the Asteraceae.
Salix bebbiana is a species of willow indigenous to Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska and Yukon south to California and Arizona and northeast to Newfoundland and New England. Common names include beaked willow, long-beaked willow, gray willow, and Bebb's willow. This species is also called red willow by Native Americans according to The Arctic Prairies Appendix E by Ernest Tompson Seton.
Psorothamnus arborescens is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Mojave indigo bush.
Purshia stansburyana is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name Stansbury's cliffrose. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in woodlands, desert, and plateau habitat. It often grows anchored on cliffs and prefers rocky, granular soils, especially limestone.
Salix boothii is a species of willow known by the common name Booth's willow.
Xylorhiza tortifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common names Mojave-aster and Mojave woodyaster.
Atriplex gardneri is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name Gardner's saltbush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Saskatchewan in Canada south to Nevada and New Mexico in the United States. The specific epithet of the species, gardneri, is misnamed after its first collector, Alexander Gordon. The naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon was under the impression that Gordon's last name was Gardner.
Atriplex nuttallii, also known as Nuttall's saltbush, is native to central and western North America. It has been treated by some botanists as a synonym of Atriplex canescens.
Sagebrush scrub is a vegetation type (biome) of mid to high elevation Western United States deserts characterized by low growing, drought resistant shrubs including sagebrush and its associates. It is the dominant vegetation type of the Great Basin Desert, occurs along the margins of the Mojave Desert, including in the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas and Transverse Ranges of California, and occurs in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region, where it may be referred to as cool desert shrub.
Monardella exilis, with the common names Mojave monardella and desert monardella, is an annual plant in the genus Monardella of the mint family (Lamiaceae).
Media related to
Purshia glandulosa at Wikimedia Commons
