Asteraceae: Ericameria nauseosa
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Family Name
Asteraceae
Common Name
Rubber Rabbitbrush
Native American Name
Lakota: pȟeží ȟóta šičámna
Description
Ericameria nauseosa is a perennial, woody shrub or subshrub supported by a deep, extensive taproot system and can spread by root sprouts. The plant has a rounded crown structure and grows from 0.5 to 3 m in height. Its highly branched, flexible, rubbery stems originate from a woody base and are distinctly covered in a dense, felt-like layer of white or grayish-green matted hairs. Leaf insertion is alternate, with simple, narrow leaves that are linear to spatula-shaped, 2 to 7.5 centimeters long and 0.5 to 3 millimeters wide. The sessile leaves have entire margins and 1- to 3-nerved veins. Both the upper and lower leaf surfaces are uniformly covered in a soft, whitish-gray woolly tomentum. Flowering occurs from August through October. The inflorescence consists of numerous compact, umbrella-shaped terminal cymes or rounded clusters. The heads are subtended by an involucre composed of 20-25 bracts in vertical ranks 6-8 mm tall. Each discoid head contains only 4 to 6 fertile, tubular disk flowers and lacks ray florets. The pappus consists of numerous fine, persistent, capillary bristles that function in wind dispersal. The corolla features 5 small, bright golden-yellow fused petals that form a narrow tube measuring roughly 6 to 10 millimeters in length. Emerging from the corolla tube are 5 fused stamens featuring long, prominent, yellow anthers. The pistil consists of a single inferior ovary topped by a long, slender style that splits into two distinct, elongated stigma branches. The resulting fruit is a 5-angled or 5-ribbed achene (cypsela), measuring a few millimeters in length, colored tan to dark brown, and covered in fine hairs. The fruits mature from late September through November. Rubber rabbitbrush is a native species to South Dakota. It is primarily found across the western half of the state, colonizing dry hills, high plains, open grasslands, badlands, and eroded slopes.
Horticulture Notes
Seed Collection: Collect seed in October when the achenes form fluffy tan clusters.
Germination: No pretreatment appears to be needed allowing spring planting, but fall sowing is usually very successful.
Vegetative Propagation: Suckers can be separated and transplanted in early spring.
Soils: Gravelly or sandy, alkaline soils.
Light: Full sun
Water: Drought tolerant, needs little water once established.
Additional Notes
Rubber rabbitbrush is highly valued in xeriscaping and ecological restoration due to its extreme drought tolerance and striking late-season display of golden blooms. Ecologically, it provides vital late-summer and autumn forage for native bees, butterflies, and other pollinators when few other desert plants are flowering. While it holds marginal nutritional value for domestic livestock, it acts as an essential winter browse for wildlife species like jackrabbits, deer, and pronghorn, and offers protective nesting cover for birds like sage grouse. It is best grown in groups or massed in larger areas, as it can aggressively spread.