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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
ABBREVIATION :
ENCFRU
SYNONYMS :
Encelia frutescens forma virginensis Hall
Encelis frutescens var. virginensis Blake
SCS PLANT CODE :
ENFR
COMMON NAMES :
bush encelia
brittlebush
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for bush encelia is Encelia
frutescens (Gray) Gray [16]. There are no subspecies, forms, or natural
hybrids. Recognized varieties are as follows [10,26]:
E. frutescens var. frutescens Gray
E. frutescens var. resinosa Jones
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Lora L. Esser, January 1993
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Esser, Lora L. 1993. Encelia frutescens. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Bush encelia occurs in the Mojave and Colorado deserts of southern
California, westward to eastern San Diego County [16]. Its range
extends eastward through central and southern Nevada to southern Utah
and Arizona [11,16,26].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
STATES :
AZ CA NV UT
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
ARCH CANY DEVA GLCA GRCA JOTR
LAME MOCA ORPI SAGU
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
3 Southern Pacific Border
7 Lower Basin and Range
12 Colorado Plateau
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K039 Blackbrush
K041 Creosotebush
K042 Creosotebush - bursage
K043 Paloverde - cactus shrub
K046 Desert: vegetation largely lacking
K058 Grama - tobosa shrubsteppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
242 Mesquite
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Bush encelia occurs as isolated individuals or in small groups on talus
and slickrock in blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) and shadscale
(Atriplex confertifolia) communities, and in creosotebush (Larrea
tridentata) and Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) communities [26]. In
southwestern Utah, bush encelia is found in xeroriparian communities and
arroyo habitats [15].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
In arroyo habitats of southwestern Utah, bush encelia is important to
the desert tortoise as a source of succulent forage in periods of low
moisture [15]. The seeds produced by white brittlebush (Encelia
farinosa), a species of the genus Encelia similar to bush encelia, are
eaten by birds and rodents [28].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
In arroyo habitats with a high shrub density and rough topography, bush
encelia provides important habitat and environmental cover for the
desert tortoise [15].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Bush encelia is an early colonizer of disturbed sites. Disturbances
such as debris flows, borrow pit excavations, and drainage channels are
colonized rapidly by bush encelia [18,23]. The population of bush
encelia will increase in numbers with a corresponding increase in the
level of disturbance. The population will decrease in numbers if
longer-lived species increase in population numbers [23]. Bush encelia
is an occasional plant on disturbed sites in the Mercury Valley and
Amargosa Valley of southern Nevada [27].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Bush encelia is a short-lived, drought-deciduous, perennial, native
shrub. It is rounded and many branched, growing from 1.5 to 5 feet
(0.5-1.5 m) tall [16,26]. Stems are ascending to erect. Leaves are 0.4
to 0.8 inch (1-2 cm) long [16,17]. The seeds of bush encelia have flat
surfaces and low mass, accounting for their excellent lofting ability
[14]. The lifespan of bush encelia is unknown but is judged to be a few
decades [24].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Bush encelia reproduces sexually. The seeds are dispersed by wind and
have excellent lofting ability, but will not disperse well from the
surface of the ground [14]. The fruit of bush encelia contains two
hairy awns on the tip that catch wind currents [14].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Bush encelia is found in upland areas of low hills and alluvial valleys
in desert environments [25]. It is common on rocky slopes and on
impoverished, residual sands and gravels [21]. Bush encelia occurs in
areas with slow internal drainage where the water table is near the
surface of the soil. In the Nevada Test Site area, the soils are highly
alkaline and may be salt encrusted at the surface [27]. Bush encelia is
a rare shrub in the Kelso Dunes area of the Mojave Desert [21]. It
occurs in spring and seepage areas of the Mojave Desert where the soils
are moist year-round or are seasonally saturated [27]. Bush encelia
inhabits naturally disturbed areas such as drainage channels and areas
with substrate alterations [18].
Elevation: In the Mojave and Colorado deserts of southern California,
bush encelia occurs at elevations from 1,700 to 6,000 feet (525-1,830 m)
[18,25]. On rocky slopes and mesas of Arizona, bush encelia grows at
elevations up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) [11]. In southwestern Utah, it is
found at elevations of 4,000 feet (1,220 m) [15]. In southern Nevada,
bush encelia can be found at elevations of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) [27].
Climate: In the deserts of California, the seasonal and diurnal
temperatures are highly variable. Mean summer maximum temperatures are
from 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (37-42 deg C), and mean winter
minimum temperatures are from 30 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1-5.5 deg
C) [17]. The average annual precipitation in these desert environments
is from 2 to 8 inches (5.1-20.3 cm) [17].
Plant associates: Common associates of bush encelia not mentioned in
Distribution and Occurrence include: wirelettuce (Stephanomeria
pauciflora), shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia), teddybear cholla
(Opuntia bigelovii), rayless goldenhead (Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus),
desertholly (Atriplex hymenelytra), desertsenna (Cassia armata),
narrowleaf goldenbush (Happlopappus linearifolius), alkali goldenbush
(Haplopappus acradenius), iva (Iva acerosa), desert polygala (Polygala
acanthoclada), Cooper wolfberry (Lycium cooperi), desert almond (Prunus
fasciculata), ephedra (Ephedra spp.), liveforever (Dudleya spp.), agave
(Agave spp.), yucca (Yucca spp.), brickellia (Brickellia spp.),
rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.), euphorbia (Euphorbia spp.), buckwheat
(Erigonum spp.), shrubby alkali aster (Aster intricatus), thistle
(Cirsium mohavense), false sunflower (Enceliopsis nudicaulis),
alkaliweed (Cressa truxillensis), Montana pepperweed (Lepidium
montanum), and snakeweed (Gutierrezia spp.) [2,18,21].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Obligate Initial Community Species
Succession in most desert communities requires a few centuries and in
creosotebush communities it could take several thousands of years for
stable communities to establish [25]. Succession in desert communities
has not been well documented for this reason.
Bush encelia colonizes recently disturbed sites such as debris flows,
borrow pits, and drainage channels [23,25]. It is a short-lived invader
that increases its population size with a corresponding increase in the
level of disturbance [23]. Bush encelia maintains low numbers in small
natural disturbances within the mature community.
In the Mojave desert, a borrow pit was excavated in 1970-71 to a depth
of 3.3 to 6.6 feet (1-2 m). Large-scale seedling establishment by bush
encelia occurred following the excavation. The heavily disturbed bottom
of the pit was colonized by a scrub community of low bushes dominated by
bush encelia [23]. The undisturbed area around the pit was dominated by
a creosotebush scrub community consisting of long-lived shrubs. On
partially-disturbed sites on the sides of the borrow pit, bush encelia
was less common than in the more heavily disturbed sites. The plant
density of bush encelia per hectare on: A-an undisturbed control area;
B-the heavily disturbed borrow pit bottom; and C-the partially disturbed
pit sides are as follows [23]:
A B C
1979 1973 1975 1979 1973 1975 1979
bush encelia 16 2446 2800 2837 1464 1514 1500
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Flowering occurs from February to May in California [17] and from
January to September in Arizona [11]. Bush encelia is probably drought
deciduous, as are other species of Encelia [28].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Information regarding the fire ecology of bush encelia is sparse. It is
assumed that, like other desert encelias, it depends on off-site seed
rather than on-site sprouts for regeneration following fire [28].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
The seeds of bush encelia are well adapted to wind dispersal. White
brittlebush will seed into burned-over areas, and it is assumed that
bush encelia will also. Areas of the desert important to the desert
tortoise that have been burned could be seeded with bush encelia for
habitat improvement [28].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens | Bush Encelia
REFERENCES :
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[434]
2. Burk, Jack H. 1977. Sonoran Desert. In: Barbour, M. G.; Major, J., eds.
Terrestrial vegetation of California. New York: John Wiley and Sons:
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3. Cole, Kenneth. 1985. Past rates of change, species richness, and a model
of vegetational inertia in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. American
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following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
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xeroriparian and upland vegetation of Beaver Dam Slope, Utah, as desert
tortoise habitat. In: Clary, Warren P.; McArthur, E. Durant; Bedunah,
Don; Wambolt, Carl L., compilers. Proceedings--symposium on ecology and
management of riparian shrub communities; 1991 May 29-31; Sun Valley,
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16. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
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17. Munz, Philip A. 1974. A flora of southern California. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. 1086 p. [4924]
18. Prose, D. V.; Metzger, Susan K.; Wilshire, H. G. 1987. Effects of
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Ecology. 68(3): 478-490; 1987. [2473]
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C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
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Index
Related categories for Species: Encelia frutescens
| Bush Encelia
|
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