IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS 161 
altitudinal distribution is largely from 7,000 to 10,000 feet, the 
plant frequently growing in association with small needle grass 
(Stipa columbiana, syn. S. minor). In central and northern Utah 
and northern Nevada the leaves of this species are grazed to a lim- 
ited extent in spring by sheep and cattle, and from about August 
15 to winter time the flower stalks are cropped by sheep but the 
flower heads usually discarded. Farther north and west the species 
is ordinarily regarded as worthless or else very poor. 
Sampson (712) reports this as one of the two primary species of 
the mixed grass-and-weed type immediately preceding the wheat- 
grass cover, or subclimax type, in the Wasatch Mountains, and 
states that it “is the most characteristic forerunner of other aggres- 
sive perennial plants which gain a foothold as the wheatgrasses 
are killed out by overgrazing or other adverse factors.” However, 
as the yellowbrush-needle grass consociation usually has as high (or 
even higher) a carrying capacity as the subclimax wheatgrass type, 
at least on common use or sheep range, a good representation of 
lanceleaf rabbit brush by no means necessarily indicates a deterior- 
ating range. 7 
Rubber rabbit brush (C. nauseosus), known also as fetid rayless- 
goldenrod, rubber yellowbrush, and white sage (brush), is a linear- 
leaved shrub, 20 to 40 inches high, with the older branches perma- 
nently white cottony woolly; it ranges from British Columbia to 
northern California, Utah, and Alberta, growing in dry, often sandy, 
gravelly, or rocky open sites (frequently in alkali) at the relatively 
lower elevations, and is one of the most characteristic components 
of the sagebrush belt. The herbage of this species has a rubbery, 
disagreeable flavor, and under normal conditions the palatability 
ranges from zero to low; the plant is probably a not infrequent indi- 
cator of overgrazing. ‘The flowering tops are sometimes taken, 
however, and on winter range the species is sometimes apparently 
fair browse because of this fact. A special study has been made of 
this species by Hall and Goodspeed (52), of the University of Cah- 
fornia, as a possible source of rubber supply. It has been demon- 
strated to contain rubber of high grade that vulcanizes readily and 
which has been named chrysil. 
Tall rabbit brush (C. speciosus, syns. C. nauseosus speciosus, C. 
_ pulcherrimus), sometimes called showy rabbit brush (fig. 41), is a 
_ pale-green, relatively tall species, 20 to 48 inches high, often 
branched from a trunklike base. It occurs on dry plains and foot- 
hills and also in moister sites, such as stream banks, typically from 
Idaho to Arizona, Colorado, and Montana, but subspecies or varie- 
ties extend its range to California and Alberta. It is a very com- 
mon species and as a rule unpalatable, but in some regions—espe- 
cially parts of Utah and southern Idaho—it is rather extensively 
browsed in winter by sheep. 
Douglas rabbit brush (C. viscidiflorus, syn. Bigelovia douglasit) , 
known also as Douglas (or tall) rabbitsage, yellowbrush, and yellow 
sage, is a species varying greatly both in form and stature; the 
height ranges from 4 inches to about 7 feet. The species occurs on 
dry plains and dry rocky, mostly southern exposures, frequently in 
association with Artemisia tridentata, from Washington to Cali- 
27259°—31——11 
