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Greene's rabbitbrush

dwarf rabbitbrush, long-flower rabbitbrush, low rabbitbrush

Habit Shrubs, 10–50 cm; with woody, moderately branched caudices, bark light gray, flaky to fibrous with age. Shrubs, 10–50 cm; woody, highly branched caudices, proximal branches decumbent, bark tan to gray, flaky with age.
Stems

ascending, green becoming tan, glabrous, resinous.

green, becoming whitish tan, ± ridged from leaf bases, densely puberulent.

Leaves

ascending to spreading;

sessile;

blades with faint midnerves, linear-filiform, 10–40 × 0.5–2 mm, flat or sulcate, sometimes twisted, margins glabrous or hirtellous, apices acute to apiculate, faces glabrous.

erect or closely ascending;

sessile;

blades with evident midnerves, linear to oblanceolate or narrowly oblong, 7–30 × 1.5–7 mm, flat to keeled, apices acute (often apiculate), faces glabrous or puberulent, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular.

Involucres

cylindric to turbinate, 5–8 × 1.5–2.5 mm.

obconic, 9–15 × 3–5 mm.

Disc florets

4–5;

corollas 3.7–5.5 mm, lobes 0.8–1.5 mm;

style branches 2–2.4 mm (exserted beyond spreading corolla lobes), appendages 0.5–0.8 mm (shorter than stigmatic portion).

5–6;

corollas 7–11 mm, lobes 1–2.1 mm;

style branches 2.4–3.3 mm, appendages 1.5–2 mm.

Phyllaries

15–20 in 3–4 series, often in vertical ranks or spirals, mostly tan, ± greenish apically, midveins rarely visible, ovate or oblong to elliptic, 1.5–5 × 0.8–1.4 mm, unequal, mostly chartaceous, sometimes ± keeled, apices acuminate to cuspidate (cusp often recurved or falcate), faces glabrous or with a few long, crooked hairs proximally and near margins, resinous.

20–25 in 4–6 series, in 5 strong vertical ranks, tan, often with green and/or purplish markings, midnerves evident throughout and ± expanded apically, lanceolate to elliptic, 3–8 × 0.5–1.5 mm, unequal, outer often herbaceous, inner scarious, strongly keeled, apices acute to acuminate, flat, faces puberulent.

Heads

in densely cymiform arrays (4 cm wide), distal leaves reaching into but not overtopping arrays.

in densely cymiform arrays, not overtopped by distal leaves.

Cypselae

reddish brown, turbinate, 3–4 mm, faces densely hairy;

pappi tan, 3.7–5 mm.

tan, subcylindric (tapering proximally), ± flattened, 5–6.5 mm, faces glabrous, sparsely glandular distally;

pappi whitish tan, 5.5–7.5 mm.

2n

= 18.

= 18.

Chrysothamnus greenei

Chrysothamnus depressus

Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat Sandy washes, dry open places in desert Dry canyons and rocky crevices
Elevation 1300–2000 m (4300–6600 ft) 1000–2700 m (3300–8900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 189. FNA vol. 20, p. 189.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Chrysothamnus Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Chrysothamnus
Sibling taxa
C. depressus, C. eremobius, C. humilis, C. molestus, C. scopulorum, C. stylosus, C. vaseyi, C. viscidiflorus
C. eremobius, C. greenei, C. humilis, C. molestus, C. scopulorum, C. stylosus, C. vaseyi, C. viscidiflorus
Synonyms Bigelowia greenei
Name authority (A. Gray) Greene: Erythea 3: 94. (1895) Nuttall: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 4: 19. (1848)
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