Bitterbrush is one of the most important browse plants on western 

 ranges. It is a diffusely branched, semierect, grayish-green shrub 

 of the rose family (Rosaceae). Other common names often, applied 

 to this plant are antelope-brush, quinine-brush, black sage and deer- 

 brush. Among stockmen this species, as well as numerous other 

 western shrubs, is frequently called buckbrush. The generic name, 

 Purshia, is in honor of Frederick T. Pursh (1774-1820), a distin- 

 guished botanical explorer and author. The bush itself, however, 

 was discovered and first collected by the famous explorer, Capt. 

 Meriwether Lewis. The specific name tridentata describes the leaves 

 which are three-toothed (tridentate) at the summit. Bitterbrush 

 is a very appropriate common name because of the extremely bitter 

 taste of the herbage. The plant appears in some of the botanical 

 manuals under the name Kunzia tridcntata, but Pwshia, being the 

 older generic name, and otherwise tenable, should be universally 

 adopted. 



Bitterbrush is one of the most widely distributed of all western 

 shrubs, ranging from Montana to New Mexico ; California, and 

 British Columbia. In the Northwest, however, it does not occur 

 west of the crest of the Cascade Mountains. This shrub grows on 

 arid plains, foothills, and mountain slopes within the piiion, ponder- 

 osa pine, and aspen belts. It grows mostly in well-drained, sandy, 

 gravelly, or rocky soils on open southerly exposures, at elevations 

 ranging from near sea level in the Columbia Basin of the Northwest 

 to about 9,000 feet in the southern limit of its range. Bitterbrush is 

 generally found growing in association with such dry-land plants 

 as sagebrush, mountain-mahogany, oakbrush, piiion, serviceberry, 

 and wheatgrass. In some of the ponderosa pine stands of eastern 

 Oregon, particularly on the Deschutes and Fremont National For- 

 ests, it occurs in dense stands and is one of the principal undershrubs. 

 Idaho fescue is the herbaceous plant most commonly associated with 

 it in these localities. In some areas, such as on the lava flats and 

 benches in northeastern California, bitterbrush often grows in exten- 

 sive, dense, almost pure stands. 



As bitterbrush is usually abundant, sometimes being the chief 

 component of the vegetation, it is an important element of the range 

 carrying capacity. In many places in the West it is regarded as the 

 most important single browse species. The leafage and younger 

 twigs are extensively cropped by sheep, goats, and cattle, but are 

 eaten very little by horses. The palatability of bitterbrush is usu- 

 ally good to very good or excellent for both sheep and cattle 

 throughout most of its range. However, some interesting varia- 

 tions in its palatability occur. Throughout Utah, Colorado, Nevada, 

 northeastern California, and many parts of Idaho, bitterbrush is a 

 highly prized forage plant, but on the Boise, Sawtooth, and Weiser 

 National Forests in Idaho its palatability ranges from worthless to 

 only fair for sheep and poor to fair for cattle, although on adjacent 

 range areas it is regarded as an excellent forage plant. A parallel 

 condition exists in eastern Oregon where, in general, bitterbrush 

 rates as one of the most valuable of all native forage shrubs, being 

 high in palatability for both sheep and cattle. In several localized 

 areas, however, livestock utilize the leafage but very little, even on 



