Ericameria nauseosa var. ceruminosa

Desert rabbitbrush, Desert Rabbitbrush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Desert rabbitbrush is a California native shrub found in the Mojave Desert in gravelly arroyos at elevations of 700 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces yellow flowers in dense clusters with involucres 7 to 8.5 millimeters long. Growing 60 to 150 centimeters tall with yellow-green, closely tomentose stems that become nearly leafless when flowering, it has a distinctive appearance. Its leaves are thread-like, curved, and only 0 to 3 centimeters long, giving the shrub a sparse, delicate texture. The plant's flower corollas are 6 to 7.5 millimeters long, with lobes that ascend or curve slightly backward.

Habitat: Gravelly arroyos

Bloom period: Aug-Oct

Elevation: 700-1700 m

Bioregions: DMoj.

California counties: Kern, San Bernardino, Tulare, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.