Bitterbrush | |
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Purshia tridentata, Wenas Wildlife Area | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Purshia |
Species: | P. tridentata
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Binomial name | |
Purshia tridentata | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Purshia tridentata, with the common name bitterbrush, [1] [2] [3] is a shrub in the genus Purshia of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America. [3]
Common names include antelope bitterbrush, [3] [2] antelope bush, [2] buckbrush, quinine brush, and less commonly deerbrush, blackbrush, and greasewood. [4] Some of these names are shared with other species.
Purshia tridentata is a deciduous shrub growing to a height of 1–5 metres (3+1⁄2–16+1⁄2 feet). It has many branches and slender green, [5] three- to five-lobed leaves 5–20 millimetres long. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant. [6]
The flowers are pale yellow, [5] with five petals 6–8 mm long, and darker yellow anthers. The fruit is a cluster of dry, slender, leathery achenes 0.6–2 centimetres long.
There are two named varieties of the species:
The plant is found from southeastern British Columbia in the north, east to Montana and Wyoming, south to New Mexico, and west in California. [3] It grows on arid mountainsides and slopes, as well as rocky or drained soils with somewhat more moisture than the sagebrush steppe. [5] It is often associated with Balsamorhiza as well as Wyethia species, and in southern areas hybridizes with Purshia stansburyana. [5]
In California it occurs between 700–3,400 m (2,300–11,200 ft) above sea level, including in the Peninsular Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Sierra Nevada, and southern Cascade Range. [2] [9] Further north it occurs at lower elevations, such as at 320–1,065 m (1,050–3,494 ft) in British Columbia. [10]
The shrub is an important forage plant for many game animals, including deer, [5] especially during the winter. [11]