CHAMISE. GREASEWOOD (Adenostoma fasciculatum, Hook 

 & A.). Flowers white, individually very small, but disposed 

 in showy, crowded panicles, several inches in height terminal 

 on the branches. Leaves evergreen, needle-like, about j inch 

 long, and clustered along the branches. A shrub 2 to 15 feet 

 high, flowering from April to June, and clothing great areas 

 of mountain sides in California with a dense, uniform, dark 

 green covering in effect like heather in the Old World;- particu- 

 larly abundant southward and near the Coast. After flow- 

 ering, the abundant reddish-brown seed vessels give a decided 

 color note to the mountain slopes. 



Greasewood is a term given in the Southwest to so many 

 different plants that it is almost meaningless. It is applied to 

 this Adenostoma doubtless because the roots have long been a 

 recognized fuel in Southern California, and when thoroughly 

 dry, burn as though they contained grease indeed. Chamise 

 (pronounced cha-meeze) is an Americanized form of the Span- 

 ish chamiso. 



In the extreme south a nearly related species is met, Aden- 

 ostoma sparsifolium, Torr., distinguished by scattered leaves 

 and a red, cedar-like bark that hangs in shreds. It is known 

 in popular parlance as Red Shank or Bastard Cedar. 

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