Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus

(Hooker) Nuttall

Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 324. 1840.

Common names: Yellow or sticky-leaf rabbitbrush
Endemic
Basionym: Crinitaria viscidiflora Hooker Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 24. 1834
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 20. Treatment on page 191. Mentioned on page 188.

Shrubs, 10–120 cm; with woody, branched caudices, bark whitish tan, becoming gray, flaky and fibrous with age. Stems ascending, green, soon becoming tan, glabrous or puberulent, sometimes resin-dotted, often resinous. Leaves ascending, spreading, or deflexed; sessile; blades with evident midnerves plus sometimes 1–2 pairs of smaller, collateral nerves, linear to lanceolate, 10–75 × 0.5–10 mm, flat or sulcate, often twisted, margins often undulate, sometimes ciliate, apices acute to apiculate, faces glabrous or puberulent. Heads in dense, rounded cymiform arrays (to 7 cm wide), not overtopped by distal leaves. Involucres cylindric to obconic or campanulate, 4–7 × 1.5–2.5 mm. Phyllaries 12–24 in 3–5 series, in spirals or weak vertical ranks, mostly tan, green to brown subapical patch often present, midnerves usually evident (at least distally), linear-oblong, lanceolate to elliptic or obovate to spatulate, 1–5 × 0.5–1.2 mm, unequal, chartaceous, margins scarious, eciliate or ciliolate to erose-ciliolate, flat or convex, sometimes weakly keeled, apices acute to obtuse or rounded, sometimes apiculate, flat, faces glabrous or puberulent. Disc florets (3–)4–5(–14); corollas 3.5–6.5 mm, lobes 0.7–1.7 mm; style branches 2.2–3.2 mm (exserted beyond spreading corolla lobes), appendages 0.8–1.5 mm (length shorter than stigmatic portion). Cypselae tan to reddish brown, turbinate, 2.5–4.2 mm, ± 5-angled, moderately to densely hairy; pappi tan, 3.5–6 mm.

Distribution

V20-418-distribution-map.gif

B.C., Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., N.Mex., Nebr., Nev., Oreg., S.Dak., Utah, Wash., Wyo.

Discussion

Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Leaves flat, glabrous; corollas 3.5–4.5 mm; nc Arizona Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. planifolius
1 Leaves twisted or hairy, or corollas 3.5–6.5 mm; w United States > 2
2 Distal stems, and frequently leaves, hairy > 3
2 Stems glabrous; leaves glabrous, margins ciliate > 4
3 Stems greenish, hirtellous to puberulent; leaves green, 3- or 5-nerved, 2–6 mm wide, abaxial faces hirsute to hirtellous, adaxial usually glabrous Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. lanceolatus
3 Stems and leaves grayish green, densely puberulent; leaves 1–2(–4) mm wide; 1-nerved (sometimes 3-nerved proximally) Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. puberulus
4 Leaves 0.5–1 mm wide; florets 3–4(–5); involucres ± turbinate Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. axillaris
4 Leaves 1–10 mm wide; if 1 mm wide, involucres narrowly cylindric, and florets 4–14 Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. viscidiflorus
Lowell E. Urbatsch +, Roland P. Roberts +  and Kurt M. Neubig +
(Hooker) Nuttall +
Crinitaria viscidiflora +
Yellow or sticky-leaf rabbitbrush +
B.C. +, Ariz. +, Calif. +, Colo. +, Idaho +, Mont. +, N.Mex. +, Nebr. +, Nev. +, Oreg. +, S.Dak. +, Utah +, Wash. +  and Wyo. +
Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. +
Vanclevea +
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus +
Chrysothamnus +
species +