Bailey & Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 241 



Shrub commonly 2 to 5 feet high; herbage felty only when young; leaves 

 smooth and green, 1 to 21/2 inches long; flower clusters rounded or flat-topped, 

 the heads crowded; involucres i^ to 1/3 inch high, the bracts smooth, pointed, 

 ridged down the back; achenes hairy; occurs in canyons and on dry hills 

 bordering the deserts. A tea made from the leaves was used by the Indians 

 to relieve coughs and pains in the chest. 



Occurrence. — GRAND TETON. ROCK.Y MOUNTAIN: Cache La Poudre Creek. MES\ 

 VERDE: 7,200 feet. ZION, 3,500 to 5,000 feet: Coalpits Wash; switchbacks below Zion 

 tunnel. GRAND CANYON, on the South Rim: rim drive; Desert View. 



Variety abbreviatus (Jones) Blake, found on the south side of the Grand 

 Canyon, is similar, but with shorter leaves, which are often reduced and scale- 

 like, and with smooth achenes. 



2c. Var. consimilis (Greene) Hall. — Erect shrub, 2 to 5 feet high; twigs 

 very leafy, the felt greenish; leaves nearly filiform, 1 to 2 inches long; flower 

 cluster pyramidal or cylindric; involucre about I/4 inch high; bracts pointed, 

 ridged on the back, smooth; achenes densely hairy. 

 Occurrence. — YELLOWSTONE: Tcwer Falls. 



2d. Western Rubber Rabbitbrush (Var. occidentalis (Greene) 

 Hall). — Low shrub with numerous short erect branches; twigs grayish- woolly; 

 leaves mostly narrowly linear or filiform and not usually more than 1% 

 inches in length; flower cluster densely round-topped, 1 to 2 inches across; 

 involucres ^ to 1/3 inch high. 



Occurrence. — LASSEN. 'iOSEMlTE, 4,000 feet: Yosemite Valley; south of Mather 

 (near park). SEQUOIA, in rocky places up to 9,500 feet: Little Kern River; Big Arro- 

 yo; Kaweah River Basm. 



2e. Broom Rabbitbrush (Var. jiinceus (Greene) Hall). — Bushy shrub 

 2 to 3 feet high with erect broom-like branches; stems covered with a yellowish- 

 green felt; leaves smooth, linear-filiform, soon falling from the stems and 

 leaving them leafless and rush-like at flowering time; flower heads borne in 

 dense, more or less flat-topped clusters; involucres about 2/5 inch high, the 

 bracts pointed, smooth. 



Occurrence. — ZION. grand canyon, up to 7,000 feet. South Rim, common: rim 

 drives; Pasture Wash. Canycn: Bright Angel trail. 



Mohave Rabbitbrlish (Var. moharensis (Greene) Hall) is a form 

 closely resembling broom rabbitbrush, especially as the plants are often leaf- 

 less and broom-like. The main distinction is supposed to be in the corolla- 

 lobes which are hairy in var. junceus but smooth in var. mohavensis. This 

 variety is reported from Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks. 



2f. Showy Rabbitbrush (Var. glareosus (Jones) Hall). — Many 

 steiTimed shrub about 1 foot high; stems sparsely leafy; leaves linear, slightly 

 widened above; flower cluster flat-topped; involucre about 2/5 inch high; 

 bracts blunt, somewhat ridged and fuzzy on the backs, the margins somewhat 

 gnawed and hairy; achenes smooth. 



Occurrence. — grand canyon : Little Colorado River and perhaps in the park. 



