Ericameria lignumviridis facts for kids

Ericameria lignumviridis is a special plant known as Greenwood's goldenbush or heath-goldenrod. It's a type of shrub that grows only in one specific place: Sevier County, Utah, in the United States. This plant loves to live near rivers and streams.

Discovering Greenwood's Goldenbush

This unique plant is called Ericameria lignumviridis. Its common names are Greenwood's goldenbush and heath-goldenrod. It is a shrub, which means it is a woody plant smaller than a tree.

Where This Plant Lives

Greenwood's goldenbush is endemic to Sevier County, Utah. This means it naturally grows only in this area and nowhere else in the world. It prefers to live in riparian areas. These are places right next to rivers, streams, or other bodies of water.

It often grows alongside other plants that like wet soil. You might find it near stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) or red willow (Salix laevigata). These plants all enjoy the moist conditions found along riverbanks.

What Greenwood's Goldenbush Looks Like

The Greenwood's goldenbush is a small shrub. It usually grows up to 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) tall. It has many branches coming from its main stem.

Its leaves are a special shape called oblanceolate. This means they are longer than they are wide, and they are widest near the tip. Each leaf can be up to 30 millimeters (about 1.2 inches) long.

The flowers of this plant are very pretty. They grow in groups called cymous arrangements. This means the oldest flowers are in the center, and new flowers grow on the outside. Both the ray flowers (the petal-like parts) and the disc flowers (the tiny flowers in the center) are bright yellow.