Antelope_Bush
Purshia tridentata
Species of shrub
Purshia tridentata, with the common name bitterbrush,[1][2][3] is a shrub in the genus Purshia of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America.[3]
| Bitterbrush | |
|---|---|
| Purshia tridentata, Wenas Wildlife Area | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Purshia |
| Species: | P. tridentata |
| Binomial name | |
| Purshia tridentata | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Common names include antelope bitterbrush,[3][2] antelope bush,[2] buckbrush, quinine brush, and less commonly deerbrush, blackbrush, and greasewood.[4] Some of these names are shared with other species.
Purshia tridentata is a deciduous shrub growing to a height of 1–5 metres (3+1⁄2–16+1⁄2 feet). It has many branches and slender green,[5] three- to five-lobed leaves 5–20 millimetres long. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant.[6]
The flowers are pale yellow,[5] with five petals 6–8 mm long, and darker yellow anthers. The fruit is a cluster of dry, slender, leathery achenes 0.6–2 centimetres long.
Varieties
There are two named varieties of the species:
- Purshia tridentata var. glandulosa — Eastern Sierra Nevada, Southern California[7]
- Purshia tridentata var. tridentata[8]
The plant is found from southeastern British Columbia in the north, east to Montana and Wyoming, south to New Mexico, and west in California.[3] It grows on arid mountainsides and slopes, as well as rocky or drained soils with somewhat more moisture than the sagebrush steppe.[5] It is often associated with Balsamorhiza as well as Wyethia species, and in southern areas hybridizes with Purshia stansburyana.[5]
In California it occurs between 700–3,400 m (2,300–11,200 ft) above sea level, including in the Peninsular Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Sierra Nevada, and southern Cascade Range.[2][9] Further north it occurs at lower elevations, such as at 320–1,065 m (1,050–3,494 ft) in British Columbia.[10]
The shrub is an important forage plant for many game animals, including deer,[5] especially during the winter.[11]
- James Henrickson, "Purshia tridentata (Pursh) de Candolle, Trans. Linn. Soc. London. 12: 158. 1818", Flora of North America, vol. 9
- CalFlora Database:Purshia tridentata . accessed 9.22.2013
- USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Purshia tridentata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- United States Congressional serial set. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1861.
- Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 126. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
- David Andrews Dalton (1975). Nitrogen fixation by Purshia tridentata: some ecological aspects and root nodule anatomy. Oregon State University. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 401. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
- Central Washington Native Plants: Antelope bitterbrush
- Range Plants of Utah: Purshia tridentata (Antelope bitterbrush)
Media related to Purshia tridentata at Wikimedia Commons
