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
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