Spotlight On...Rubber Rabbitbrush

Rubber Rabbitbrush

Chrysothamnus nauseosus

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Quick ID:  

In general, Rabbitbrush appears similar to Big Sagebrush--a scrubby shrub with grayish-tinged, woolly leaves.  Like sagebrush, it's found in dry, open plains or disturbed sites, and grows about 1 to 6 feet high.  The leaves are linear and alternate on flexible stems.  The yellow flowers bloom late (August-October), blanketing the plains and slopes with the type of brilliant display most flora exhausted months ago.  Being in the Asteraceae family, each flower is actually a loose cluster of mini-blooms known as "disc flowers", like the ones in the eye of a sunflower or daisy.  The "ray flowers" that we know as petals in other Asteraceae species are absent in Rabbitbrush.  

Range:

Found up to 10,000', from Canada to Mexico, east of the Pacific mountain system and stretching to the Great Plains.  Look for it growing near dryland bunchgrasses and shrubs like Big Sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata), Basin Wildrye (Leymus cinereus), Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) and Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoregenaria spicata).
What's in a Name?

A quick note on taxonomy:
It's the most fickle sport among scientists, always in flux and impossible to keep up on.  It's not so easy to remember all this archaic Latin binomial nomenclature, and once you think you've got it down, a new taxonomical relationship is discovered or refuted, groups are shuffled around, and the 15 syllable name you've been proudly slipping into casual conversation and engraving onto your garden signs is now obsolete.  So if you're the type to stick with what you know and ignore all the newfangled monikers, I, for one, won't judge you.

That said, Rubber Rabbitbrush is technically known as "Ericameria nauseosa (Pallas ex Pursh) G.L. Nesom & Baird", but in my heart of hearts, it will always be Chrysothamnus.  Chryso- means gold, -thamnus a thicket.  The "nauseous" root in the specific epithet is in reference to the strong smell the plant gives off, rather than the idea that ingesting it will make you sick.  In fact, the plant's thick latex has been used for centuries as a sort of chewing gum (hence the "Rubber" part).  It provides shelter for and is eaten by rabbits and other small mammals.
In some southern parts of the country, Rabbitbrush is known almost exclusively as Chamisa, from the Spanish word for brush or kindling, and ultimately derived from the Latin chama (-->flamma-->"flame").        

Tidbits:

The presence of Rabbitbrush, which often grows on very poor soils, and is considered a useful indicator that land is eroded or overgrazed.  It can be an important winter forage for antelope, mule deer and elk on depleted rangelands, but is sometimes reported to be toxic to livestock.
The plant has a few adaptations that allow it to thrive in arid, inhospitable places.  It's tolerant to a wide range of soil types, alkalinity, salinity, cold and drought.  The felt-like fuzz covering the stems (technically known as trichomes) acts as insulation and reduces water loss.  The light gray stems also reflect more heat than dark green leaves would, keeping the shrubs cool as a cuke in the harsh summer sun of the open prairie.
Historically, Rabbitbrush has been used to make yellow or green dye, and prepared as a tea to help coughs and colds.  The flexible twigs are good for baskets, and the seeds can be ground and used much like cornmeal.  
People have been looking for a way to use the natural latex found in the roots and inner bark to produce rubber since the 1930s, but haven't found a commercially viable way to extract it.  There is currently an investigation underway by the University of Nevada, looking at the potential of Rabbitbrush as a multi-use industrial crop for biomaterial and bioenergy applications.  Here's the interesting project summary.

Wild Gardening:  Plants need about 4' of space, and take about 4 years to mature.  They tend to produce about a million branches, generally arising from a common point and not overtaking neighbor plants.  Overwatering or fertilizing can produce leggy, sprawling plants.  New plants sprout up from the roots and can be divided, and the seeds germinate easily.
Being a late bloomer, Rabbitbrush fills an important niche both as an ornamental perennial and a fall pollen source for bees, flies and butterflies.  To see this plant in late fall, spilling over with brilliant color and buzzing with hundreds of hungry and deprived insects, is really incredible.  It tolerates fussing-over, but seems to delight in neglect: no extra water, no soil amendments, no pruning or deadheading.  The soft, pale branches complement the muted palette of a xeric landscape perfectly, and provide a safe haven for nesting birds and other small animals.

    Spotlight On... features Montana native plants that are currently on display in our natural areas.  Have a plant that you'd like to see featured?  Let us know!

Spotlight On...Fairyslipper Orchid

Fairyslipper

Calypso bulbosa

Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)

Quick ID:  

The Fairyslipper orchid is not easily confused with any other Montana plant.  Look for it growing low along moist, shady forest floors.  Although small-statured, it's a dramatic and striking flower that never fails to elicit a shriek of delight, crumbling my facade of stoic and objective scientific observer.  In western Montana, you can usually find them blooming mid-May through June.

The flower is in typical orchid form:  three petals and three sepals (which usually look just like petals, so they're called tepals), which are divided into a sort of upper and lower deck.  In this case, the lower "lip" petal, known as the labellum, is enlarged, slipperlike, sometimes bearing a yellow throat beard, and covered with a hood.  While many orchids grow on a raceme (a long flower stem with many blooms), the fairyslipper grows singly, nodding on a pedicel just a few inches above one elliptical leaf.     

Range:

Calypso can be found encircling the globe at northern latitudes--in the western and northern US states, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia and Japan.  It grows in deep, moist woodland shade, where there is a thick layer of decaying plant material covering the ground.

What's in a Name?

Calypso was a sea goddess in Greek mythology, who was banished to the island of Ogygia after raising a ruckus with her father, Atlas, during the War of the Titans.  She's best known for her role in Homer's Odyssey, in which she imprisons Odysseus on her island.  Like the ancient sea goddess, Calypso bulbosa is enchantingly beautiful, and can only be found in secluded haunts. Interestingly, the word "calypso" comes from the Greek kalyptein, "to cover", which is also the root of the word apocalypse (apo- means "away from"; apocalypse = revelation, disclosure).

The word orchid (from the Greek orkhis) literally means "testicle", from the shape of the root of some species.  The specific epithet bulbosa is less glamorous; it references the bulb-like corms from which the flower springs. 

Tidbits:

We could, of course, go on and on about orchids.  They are they most morphologically diverse and highly evolved family of monocots, and contain well over 25,000 species (this is twice the number of bird species in the world, and four times the number of mammals).  They occur in every part of the world except Antarctica, inhabiting most any terrain, from rain forests to glaciers.

When I think of orchids, I usually conjure up a steamy cloud forest, with showy flowers clinging to the side of damp trees.  These are called epiphytes--plants that grow in the air, attached to another plant, rather than in the soil.  It's not a parasitic relationship; they gather moisture and nutrients from the air, falling rain, and occasionally organic debris that accumulates around their perch.  Of course, this wouldn't fly in Montana's dry summers.  The orchids you find here are called terrestrial orchids, and they're rooted in the earth like any other plant.  Folks are surprised to discover that Montana has at least 30 different species of terrestrial orchids, ranging from 3" to over 3 feet tall.  Some are unassuming, like the green Bluntleaved Orchid (Platanthera obstusata), others are extremely showy, like the Yellow Ladyslipper (Cypripedium parviflorum-seen above).  While you can find many species (like the Hooded Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes romanzoffiana) quite easily in moist areas, there are others--Giant Helleborine (Epipactis gigantea-below), Sparrow's Egg Ladyslipper (Cypripedium passerinum), Roundleaf Orchid (Platanthera orbiculata)-- that elude all but the most diligent orchid hunter.  

Orchids have evolved some of the most fascinating pollination mechanisms on earth.  Calypso gives off the scent of nectar, but doesn't actually produce any.  When a bee lands on the inflated landing pad of a labellum, it slips down the throat, squirming about in search of the nonexistent food source, then buzzes its pollen-dusted body on to the next trickster flower.  Bees are quick to learn and remember this deception; the slight morphological differences in the varieties of Calypso bulbosa may be an adaptation to avoid recognition and extend the ruse. 

Wild gardening:

Not recommended.  Although Fairyslippers are quite common, they are extremely sensitive to environmental disturbance.  They form intricate relationships with soil fungi that are difficult to establish in the home garden.  Enjoy them in their natural habitat; it's a good excuse to get out there and see what's blooming.  

Spotlight On... features Montana native plants that are currently on display in our natural areas.  Have a plant that you'd like to see featured?  Let us know!

Spotlight On...Currants & Gooseberries

Currants & Gooseberries

Ribes spp.

Grossulariaceae (Currant Family)

Quick ID:  

The many species of Ribes have a few things in common.  Look for deciduous shrubs with alternate, palmately lobed leaves growing along streams and on drier foothills.  The spicy-scented flowers can be white, pinkish or yellow, with petals fused into a tube at the base.  The ovaries are inferior-somewhat more rare in the plant kingdom than superior ovaries.  This basically means that the female part of the flower (that, once pollinated, will swell into a seed-bearing fruit) is located below where the petals and sepals are attached.  

Incidentally, inferior ovaries evolved later in plants; a protective measure to keep the important reproductive parts tucked away.  It's easy to see once the fruit starts forming, with the end result being a dry little spike where the flower once was, right at the end of the berry.

Ribes is a large genus; we have 14 species that are common throughout Montana.  The shrubs grow from three to over nine feet tall, spreading into a thicket through zealous new sprouts that spring from the roots.  The berries are prolific, ranging from shades of yellow, orange, and red to a purplish-black.  In general, gooseberries have prickles and currants do not.  Common names being fickle as they are, however, this is not always the case.

Cooking spiny gooseberries softens the thorns and makes them palatable.

Range:

Ribes are native to high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, and can be found in every Canadian province and US state except Louisiana and Hawaii.  Europe and Asia also host several native species.  Click here to see distribution maps of different species. 

What's in a Name?

Over 2000 years ago, the Greek city Corinthe began growing and shipping a small dried grape (Uva corinthiaca) all over Europe.  The word "currant" is a corruption of "Corinthe"; it was incorrectly assumed that these Corinthian grapes were actually Ribes berries.  The misnomer stuck.  Ribes, in turn, derives from the Arabic or Persian word ribas, "acid-tasting".  The root of the family name, Grossularia, is a Latinization of the French word for currant, groseille.  And gooseberries, well...they just taste good when they're stuffed into a roast goose, according to old English custom.   

 Tidbits:  It comes as no surprise that this useful berry has such a long and vivid history.  North American tribes used currants and gooseberries for summer and winter sustenance, as treatment for ailments ranging from toothaches to kidney disease to snakebites, and as a seasonal signal for when to plow and plant corn.  Gooseberry thorns were used to remove splinters and apply tattoos.  It was believed that Ribes growing alongside streams was an indicator of fish, and that sprigs of the plant placed in cribs kept babies happy. Lewis and Clark were delighted with the three species of Ribes they discovered on their travels along the Missouri River:

         wax currant (R. cereum)

         sticky currant (R. viscosissimum)

         and golden currant (R. aureum).

Golden currant is perhaps the most well-known and widespread.  Today, currants are generally thought of as a tasty berry.  Indeed, all Ribes fruits are edible, but they can be sweetly juicy, puckery tart, dry and seedy, or just plain weird tasting.

Currants are host to the first stage of blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), a fungus that's harmless to Ribes but deadly to five-needled pines.  Blister rust was introduced to the US from Europe around 1900, and through the 1950s there was a massive (unsuccessful) Ribes eradication effort which included a ban on commercial production.  Today, currants are only produced commercially in Greece and South Africa.

Wild gardening:

Ribes offer early spring flowers (April-May), bright summer berries and bold fall colors.  They're easily propagated by their offshoots, which can be tugged out of the ground, snipped off along with some stringy roots and popped in the ground as is.

As with all new plantings, give them plenty of water the first season to establish a healthy root system, and within three years they'll start bearing fruit.  They are happy in sand or clay, sun or part shade, standing water or drought.  Trim suckers diligently to keep a tidy, compact shrub, or allow to naturalize into a thicket haven for wildlife.  Here at the Nature Adventure Teaching Garden at Fort Missoula, Golden Currant fills out a native bed, along with Western Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Prairie Junegrass (Koelaria macrantha) and Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

Currants fill an important niche by providing an early-season nectar source for bees and hummingbirds, particularly the Rufous and Calliope in western Montana.  For more info on nontraditional pollinator plants, check out this excellent article from Montana Wildlife Gardener  The berries are a source of food for birds, black bears and rodents, while the abundant leaves are an important browse for deer and elk in the wild.  

Spotlight On... features Montana native plants that are currently on display in our natural areas.  Have a plant that you'd like to see featured?  Let us know!