Ericameria parryi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ericameria parryi |
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| var. aspera | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| (unranked): | |
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Astereae
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| Genus: |
Ericameria
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| Species: |
E. parryi
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| Binomial name | |
| Ericameria parryi (A.Gray) G.L.Nesom & Baird
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| Synonyms | |
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Chrysothamnus parryi |
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Ericameria parryi, also known as Parry's rabbitbrush, is a type of flowering plant in the aster family. It's found naturally across much of the western United States. You might also hear it called Chrysothamnus parryi, which is another name for it.
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What is Parry's Rabbitbrush?
This plant can look quite different depending on where it grows. Each of its many varieties has its own special features. Generally, it's a shrub with several stems that grow straight up. These stems can be anywhere from 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) to one meter (about 3 feet) tall, though they often don't reach the full meter.
The branches of Parry's rabbitbrush are covered in soft, fuzzy fibers that can be white or greenish. Its leaves are usually long and narrow, or shaped a bit like a small spoon. They can be from one to 8 centimeters long. The leaves might be smooth, very hairy, or even woolly. Sometimes, they can also feel sticky because of tiny glands on them.
Flowers and Fruit
The flower cluster often has many flower heads grouped together. But sometimes, you might see just one flower head by itself. Each flower head can have up to 20 small, yellow, tube-shaped flowers in the center, called disc florets. This plant doesn't have the petal-like flowers (ray florets) that you see on the edges of some daisies.
After the flowers bloom, a small, dry fruit called an achene develops. This fruit can be up to 8 millimeters long. It has a fluffy tuft of whitish or brown hairs, called a pappus, at its tip. This pappus helps the seeds float away in the wind.
Life Cycle of Parry's Rabbitbrush
Parry's rabbitbrush usually blooms from July through September. Its fruits and seeds develop and start to spread in the fall and continue into the winter. The wind helps carry the seeds to new places. This plant can live for a long time, typically between 15 and 20 years.
Where It Grows
This is a very tough plant that can live in many different places. You can find it in mountains and foothills. If an area is disturbed, for example, by animals eating plants there, the number of Parry's rabbitbrush plants will often increase.
Different Kinds of Parry's Rabbitbrush
There are at least 12 different varieties of Ericameria parryi:
- E. parryi var. affinis - Found only in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
- E. parryi var. aspera - Also known as rough rabbitbrush, found only in California and Nevada.
- E. parryi var. attenuata - Called narrow-bract rabbitbrush.
- E. parryi var. howardii - Known as Howard's rabbitbrush, it grows in and east of the Rocky Mountains.
- E. parryi var. imula - This is the low rabbitbrush, a small variety found only in San Bernardino County, California, especially around Bear Valley.
- E. parryi var. latior - Called broadleaf rabbitbrush, found only in northern California.
- E. parryi var. monocephala - The one-headed rabbitbrush, common in the Sierra Nevada mountains of eastern California and western Nevada.
- E. parryi var. montana - This is the mountain rabbitbrush, a small plant found only in the Red Conglomerate Peaks of Idaho and Montana.
- E. parryi var. nevadensis - Known as Nevada rabbitbrush.
- E. parryi var. parryi - This variety is common across the interior western United States.
- E. parryi var. salmonensis - The Salmon River rabbitbrush, found only in Idaho, growing along the Salmon River.
- E. parryi var. vulcanica - Called Vulcan rabbitbrush, this is an uncommon, small variety found only in the Sierra Nevada of California.
