ERICAMERIA TERETIFOLIA - TERETE LEAVED RABBITBRUSH

Generally erect but especially so after rains is the brilliant Ericameria Teretifolia, also known as Terete Leaved Rabbitbrush. Although yellow flowered shrubs abound in Mojave Desert, this specimen forms alluring densely prominent clumps which can assist identification. Its endemic range includes Keys View of Joshua Tree National Park in the Little San Bernardino Mountains.

Another common name for Ericameria Teretifolia is rubberbrush, attributed to the high quality rubber which can be rendered from its latex, a white fluid found in many plants. The small, almost cylindrical leaves are coated in sticky viscous resin, which plays a protective role. Bumps dotted with resin near the flowering head are a type of bract called phyllaries, and can serve as taxonomic indicators. When blooming, attractive yellow flowers heavily obscure the grey green growth beneath.

Native grounds of Terete Leaved Rabbitbrush extend to other parts of eastern and southern California, plus areas of Arizona and Nevada. It rarely exceeds 5 feet tall, preferring desert and overlapping mountain regions, among flat plains, rocky slopes and canyon walls. Some native cultures were known to chew the bark. Ericameria as a genus is mostly shrub like, with over 40 species native to California

AMARANTHUS FIMBRIATUS - FRINGED AMARANTH

Keys View in Joshua Tree National Park is often visited by forceful winds, whipping across the peaks of the Little San Bernardino Mountains. In spite of the areas gusty inclinations, only the slightest breezy caress is necessary to evoke the soothing and ethereal presence of Amaranthus Fimbriatus, casually known as Fringed Amaranth.

The slender stalks of Amaranthus Fimbriatus present in agreeable shades of green and dark red, although populations in the area surrounding Keys View are predominantly maroon. Their terminal tips, covered in clusters of small flowers, often curl over and droop. Rarely exceeding 24 inches in height, Fringed Amaranth tends to congregate in clumps spaced several feet apart. This plant is classified Glabrous in botany, meaning smooth, lacking in scales, bristles, or hair like organs.

Although native to the Keys View Area, A. Fimbriatus is also found throughout the southwest United States and portions of Mexico. It prefers sandy soils and usually blooms after summer monsoons. Amaranthus as a Genus contains approximately 60 accepted species of annual and short lived perennial plants, some considered invasive weeds.

ATRIPLEX CANESCENS - FOUR WING SALTBUSH

Shrubs differ from trees by generally being shorter and having many woody stems instead of one main trunk. Fourwing Saltbush is the casual term for a shrub known to botany as Atriplex Canescens. Its native range passes through Keys View, an area of Joshua Tree National Park in the Little San Bernardino Mountains at approximately 5,000 feet.

Fourwing Saltbush also grows throughout other parts of California, and the western United States, no further east than Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota and North Dakota. Such a range supports its growth from sea level to over 7,000 feet, and appears in a multitude of biomes such as Alkali Sink, Creosote Bush Scrub, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Joshua Tree Woodland, Coastal Strand, Valley Grassland, Chaparral, and Coastal Sage Scrub.

Although shrubs might not be as prominent as trees or Cacti, Atriplex Canescens is identifiable by distinct flakey bracts which surrond its fruits. It has been known to naturally hybridize with several other species of Atriplex, making the 5 varieties recognized by botanists even harder to discearn. Native cultures would work the dried root and tiny inconspicuous blossoms into a poultice for insect bites, and were also burned in spiritual events. Additionally, roots could be processed into soap, and seeds which had not yet been dispersed by wind were gathered and consumed.