Names
Scientific Name: Brickellia californica
Synonym: Coleosanthus californicus, Brickellia wrightii
Common Names: California brickellbush, false boneset, yerba de la vaca, prodigiosa
Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub/shrub
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Along slopes, dry canyons, streambeds, 3,000 to 7,000 feet
Flower Color: Greenish-cream
Flowering Season: Late summer to fall
Height: 1.5 to 4 feet
Description: Stems grow from the root crown with a white to silver-grayish bark. Gray-green leaves are ½ to 2 inches long and almost as wide. Flowers form in fragrant clusters ¼ to 1/3 inch long containing 8 to 18 florets.
Special Characteristics
California brickellbush is not shade tolerant. It flowers abundantly, providing many seeds for wildlife. It is reported to be a larval food plant for the tiger moth. Brickellbush is often planted for its strong fragrance and is considered a medicinal plant by Native Americans.
Classification
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
SOURCES:
U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, International Programs website. Fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Brickellia%20californica.pdf
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Digital Library. www.desertmuseumdigitallibary.org/public/detail.php?id=ASDM2818&sp=Brickellia%20californica
Kearney, T. H. and R. H. Peebles. 1960. Arizona Flora. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
