Coulter's brickellbush facts for kids

Brickellia coulteri (also known as Coulter's brickellbush) is a type of flowering plant. It belongs to the daisy family, which is a very large group of plants! This plant grows naturally in North America, especially in Mexico and the southwestern United States.

Discovering Coulter's Brickellbush

This plant is a shrub, which means it is a woody plant smaller than a tree. It can grow up to about 150 centimeters (or 60 inches) tall. That's taller than many kids!

What Coulter's Brickellbush Looks Like

Coulter's brickellbush has many small flower heads. These flower heads contain pale yellow-green disc flowers. Unlike some daisies, this plant does not have ray flowers. Ray flowers are the petal-like parts you see on a sunflower or a common daisy.

Where Coulter's Brickellbush Lives

This plant is native to several areas. In Mexico, you can find it in Baja California Sur, Baja California, Sonora, and Oaxaca. In the southwestern United States, it grows in Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and western Texas.

How It Got Its Name

The name Brickellia coulteri was given to this plant in 1852. It was named after an Irish botanist named Thomas Coulter. He lived from 1793 to 1843 and was a very important plant scientist.

Different Types of Coulter's Brickellbush

Scientists sometimes find slight differences within a species. These are called varieties. For Coulter's brickellbush, there are two main varieties:

• Brickellia coulteri var. adenopoda
• Brickellia coulteri var. coulteri