43 Brittlebush Facts: Habitat, Characteristics, Uses And More

Widely seen all across the desert habitats of North America, the brittlebush is quite an extraordinary shrub.

With blooming bright yellow flowers, these plants come as a sweet respite to the weary eyes traveling through the barren lands of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. However, the flowers only properly bloom during the spring months.

Now, this shrub is mainly used because it can effectively reduce the effects of soil erosion. This property has propelled its usage for bordering, soil covering, and massing. Yet, that's not all! There are plenty of other uses for this desert shrub.

Want to know more about the uses and the characteristics of brittlebush? Keep scrolling and reading!

Facts About Brittlebush

Known by various names across the North American landmass, there are many intriguing things to learn about the brittlebush. Let us take a look at some of these facts.

• The brittlebush is a prevalent American plant found in the desert habitat.
• The plant is known for its bright yellow flowers.
• These yellow flowers tell us that the brittlebush is part of the sunflower family. The scientific moniker for this family is Asteraceae.
• On the other hand, the scientific name of this desert plant is Encelia farinosa.
• The name, Encelia farinosa, was first defined by American botanists Asa Gray and John Torrey. Interestingly, Asa Gray is often considered by many to be the most influential botanist in America in the 19th century.
• The generic name is also derived from a specific characteristic of this plant. The leafy stems of the plant are pretty sensitive and will easily break; thus, being quite brittle.
• These desert plants are native to the northern part of the American landmass. They can be found in areas of Mexico and the United States of America.
• In the United States of America, brittlebush plants are seen in southwestern states like Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. The Mojave Desert in California is a popular home to them.
• South to the American border, this desert plant can be easily seen in the Mexican state of Sonora. The Sonoran Desert has many freely occurring brittlebush with its yellow flowers.
• Apart from the Sonoran Desert, other Mexican states like Sinaloa, Baja California, Hidalgo, and Baja California Sur have these desert plants.
• Interestingly, the Encelia farinosa has made its way through to Hawaii, where it has been introduced artificially in recent years.

Brittlebush's Habitat

As we have already mentioned, brittlebush is a desert plant. However, there are some more facts about the habitation of these plants that we should learn about. Take a look at some of them:

• The Encelia farinosa also grows in habitats like the coastal chaparral.
• Apart from this, the brittlebush can grow on dry slopes that are part of the rocky hillsides.
• Another habitation of the brittlebush is an open sandy wash.
• Of course, these pretty plants from the desert can only be found at a certain elevation from sea level. This elevation hardly ever exceeds more than 3,300 ft (1000 m).
• In its native habitation, brittlebush can grow well due to several reasons. One of the primary ones is the availability of sunlight. That is why this shrub survives so well during the long dry seasons of the desert.
• During the long dry seasons, flowers of the brittlebush fall, and without proper moisture, they rely on the moisture stored in their thick stems.
• Of course, due to their reliance on moisture, the brittlebush grows in well-drained soil.
• Did you know that the brittlebush flowers grow once the dry season is over? The full bloom of the brittlebush flowers takes place as a result of the winter rains.
• This blooming usually occurs in between the spring months of March and June.
• Unfortunately, the brittlebush cannot survive in places with high amounts of winter frost. For the steady growth of this plant, just a minimal level of winter frost is suitable.

Brittlebush's Characteristics

Due to its uniqueness as a flower of the desert, the brittlebush has adaptations it needs to survive. Why don't you check out some of the characteristics of the brittlebush?

• Fully developed brittlebush plants have oval-shaped leaves that are long and silver-green in color.
• The silver-green appearance of these leaves is due to the presence of silky hair-like trichomes.
• These trichomes have an essential role to play for the shrub. Apart from protecting these plants from the cold and the heat, they also trap water in them. This helps reduce the amount of water lost during photosynthesis in desert habitation.
• The trichomes are also known for trapping bits of moisture from the air for the plant.
• Interestingly, the brittlebush flower heads are quite isolated from each other.
• The disk-corollas of the flowers can range from purplish to a shade of yellowish-orange.
• Generally, a grown specimen of the Encelia farinosa is more than capable of producing hundreds of such beautiful yellow sunflowerish flowers.
• In terms of height, the brittlebush usually attains a height of around 12-60 in (30-150 cm), while the flower petals are about 1 in (2.5 cm). On the other hand, the leaves grow no more than 1.2-3.8 in (3-8 cm).
• You must have heard about optical illusions in the desert, right? Well, this plant can provide another such illusion, with the leaves from the brittlebush stem being lower than the flowers. This makes it seem like there is a floating layer of yellow just above the leaves.
• Being perennial shrubs, the Encelia farinosa has a lifespan that spans for more or less than two decades.

Unique Facts About Brittlebush

Did you think we'd be done with just these few facts about this desert plant? Of course not!

Here are some more awesome and fascinating facts about the Encelia farinosa, including the names of their subspecies:

• In their native continent of North America, there are two subspecies of the Encelia farinosa.
• The first subspecies is the Encelia farinosa farinosa, characterized by its yellow-colored disc florets. This is, by far, the most common variety of the plant.
• The second subspecies is the Encelia farinosa phenicodonta. In this subspecies, the disc florets are colored purplish.
• Incidentally, the species Encelia radians was earlier considered to be part of the Encelia farinosa family.
• These shrubs have a multitude of uses. One of them includes being used formerly as a toothbrush by the cowboys of the wild, wild west!
• The E. farinosa have also been utilized to waterproof containers, apart from being melted to be used as a varnish.
• The stems of this plant produce a fragrant resin that can be turned into a glue-like substance. Indigenous people like the Seri and the O'odham used it for this purpose.
• Other names for E. farinosa include the term brittlebrush, while the Spanish used to refer to this shrub by two names: the hierba del vaso and the incienso.
• The name incienso has a history behind it. It comes from the usage of brittlebush as incense sticks by the Spanish colonialists when they were exploring the then-newly discovered American landmass.
• Did you know how the brittlebush travels and reproduces in the desert? The seeds are easily dispersed, and the shrub can grow very quickly in ideal conditions.
• Some animals feed on the seeds of the California brittlebush, like the kangaroo rats. Bighorn sheep and mule deer are also sometimes seen feeding on the shrub.
• Even though the brittlebush produces some toxic substances, there are reports that the dried leaves and dried flowers can be brewed to prepare a tea with medicinal properties. However, care must be taken to avoid toxins entering the body.