Nature Pick: Rubber Rabbitbrush

"Ahead was an ocean of rabbit brush bursting with yellow blossoms. The prairie under hoof was lavender in the dimming light."

– Sarah Bird, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen

The perennial rubber (or gray) rabbitbrush, or Ericameria nauseosa, is a native species to Montana and can be found locally in the Blackfoot Valley as well as throughout the state. Additionally, the species ranges as far south as Mexico and north into British Columbia.

Montana is host to four variants of the shrub: graveolens, nauseosa, species, and oreophila, which differ some in the leaf appearance and coloring.

The leaves of rabbitbrush exhibit a felt-like covering of small hairs called trichomes that help insulate the plant and prevent water loss through transpiration. This is one of several plant adaptations for living in arid environments, according to the Fire Effects Information System from the United States Forest Service.

The shrub can be observed on sunny, open slopes as well as along roadsides and ditches, where it can capture additional runoff from the pavement. Locally, rabbitbrush can be seen scattered along Beaver Creek Road.

A full-sized plant can vary in height from 12 to 90 inches tall and sports a rounded crown. The shrub has erect, rubbery stems that grow up from the base of the plant with thin, undivided leaves called linear leaves, ranging in color from whitish-grey to green. In late summer and fall, small bright yellow flowers grow in clusters at the tips of the stems.

True to its name, rubber rabbitbrush was explored as an alternative rubber option beginning during World War II. Native Americans are cited as using rabbitbrush as a chewing gum, yellow dye, and tea.

Depending on location, rabbitbrush can be an important browse species for pronghorn, mule deer, and jackrabbits, particularly on depleted rangelands. In Montana, it is considered an important fall and winter food source for mule deer, when the percentage of rabbitbrush in their diets doubles, according to the USFS. Rabbitbrush is also noted as a browse species for elk in September in Montana. Overall, it is considered to be of little value to all classes of livestock, according to the USFS, which goes on to note that all varieties are considered to be slightly toxic for livestock.

Rabbitbrush provides covers for mammals and small nesting birds. It is also a pollen source for insects late in the summer and sees pollination by several varieties of bees considered native to Montana, including the two form bumble bee and the central bumble bee, which have territories covering Lewis and Clark County.