28 



TREES AND FLOWERS OF 



(gray) 



(yellow) 



SAGEBRUSH 



RABBIT BRUSH 



Sagebrush (Artemisia). Sagebrush is the domi- 

 nant shrub in all open places in the Yellowstone Park, 

 as it is throughout the West. In its most frequent 

 form it is a round bush two or three feet high. As 

 a rule the plants do not form a continuous cover, but 

 are spaced some little distance apart, giving the plain 

 or hillside where they grow a curious tufted appear- 

 ance. The prevailing color is gray; the bark is gray, 

 the narrow leaves are gray, and the tall flower-spikes 

 that appear late in the season are gray also. It is this 

 that makes most Western landscapes so sad-colored. 



Rabbit Brush (Chrysothaninus) . This shrub, 

 known also as golden bush and rayless goldenrod, is 

 a companion plant of the sagebrush at the lower eleva- 

 tions, but is not found much above the 6,500 foot level. 

 It commonly reaches a height of two feet or a little 

 over. As a rule, only the base of the plant is woody, 

 the abundant straight upper branches being soft and 

 green. The leaves are very numerous and are exceed- 

 ingly narrow and pointed. Their bright green color 

 gives a welcome relief from the prevailing sagebrush 

 gray, and when the yellow flower-heads bloom, about 

 mid-August, the bush is really beautiful. 



