The plant books refer to Chrysothamnus nauseous as a native of higher elevations. But it certainly grows wild here...
A view from the front corner: a big cluster of this green desert shrub, also known as rubber rabbitbrush. In autumn it is covered with yellow flowers. In summer, it is pleasant simply to have a spot of such a bright green!
I am trying my hand at some brief posts among the full length ones - not sure whether this will last or not...
It doesn't sound like the sort of plant you'd want to eat..
ReplyDeleteI've thought the same many times while trying to memorize that name, Jessica ;-) In point of fact, I can't find that there's anything too awful about it, except that it makes livestock ill if eaten in quantity...
DeleteBTW, I've added a list of toxic plants to my comment on your last blog post - to hopefully confound mice and other obnoxious creatures. I do apologize for taking up so much space with it! I expected it to show a few lines and then say, "Read more." Instead it seems to show up full length. Oops!
DeleteLovelovelove that plant. Adds such gorgeous gold color to our 6000-7000 foot mountains in fall. Other times it just smells good. BTW, it's back to Ericameria. Our species is nauseosa, too (not nauseous to me, however!). Nice to have the long view toward the mountains of your place. Do I see creosote? What is your elevation?
ReplyDeleteIt's popped up in the low spots in our yard, so I'm hoping to transplant or start cuttings for landscape use eventually because it IS such an attractive plant. And yes, you see plenty of creosote; we're in the middle of classic creosote country here - at just under 1700 ft so still definitely low desert. I don't know how high the peaks behind us (White Tanks Mountains) are. Ericameria... have to remember that... ;-)
DeleteI wondered how it got its species name but the on-line references aren't particularly helpful, although I did see that it's said to contain chemical products that present grazing animals from consuming too much of it.
ReplyDeleteThat's more information than I found, except that one book explained that the roots do contain a high-grade rubber. Potentially useful plant! ;-)
DeleteGosh, that's quite a name to memorise Amy! Not a plant we have here, but bet the autumn flowers are very welcome.
ReplyDeleteWill be interested to see how the short posts go - I personally enjoy short posts as well as longer ones!
At least the second part of the name is all too memorable...! The autumn bloom time is wonderful as there is little or no foliage colour change at that season here. Thanks for the encouragement :)
DeleteThat's a great looking plant - I think the contrast to the drier areas is perfect....and that name(!)
ReplyDeleteIt makes for a surprisingly lush look, doesn't it? It mostly appears in the low spots but certainly doesn't require living in a wash environment, which is promising...
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