Purshia tridentata

 ( Tridentata ) 

Purshia tridentata, with the common name bitterbrush, is a shrub in the genus Purshia of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America.

Common names include antelope bitterbrush, antelope bush, buckbrush, quinine brush, and less commonly deerbrush, blackbrush, and greasewood. Some of these names are shared with other species.

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Description Purshia tridentata is a deciduous shrub growing to a height of . It has many branches and slender green, three- to five-lobed leaves long. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant.

The are pale yellow, with five petals 6–8 mm long, and darker yellow anthers. The fruit is a cluster of dry, slender, leathery each up to long.

(2025). 9781604692631, Timber Press. . ISBN 9781604692631

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Varieties There are two named varieties of the species:

• Purshia tridentata var. glandulosa — Eastern Sierra Nevada, Southern California CalFlora Database: Purshia tridentata var. glandulosa
• Purshia tridentata var. tridentata CalFlora Database: Purshia tridentata var. tridentata

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Distribution The plant is found from southeastern British Columbia in the north, east to Montana and Wyoming, south to New Mexico, and west in California. It grows on arid mountainsides and slopes, as well as rocky or drained soils with somewhat more moisture than the sagebrush steppe.

Ronald J. Taylor (1994). 9780878422807, Mountain Press Pub. Co. ISBN 9780878422807

It is often associated with Balsamorhiza as well as Wyethia species, and in southern areas hybridizes with Purshia stansburyana.

In California it occurs between above sea level, including in the Peninsular Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Sierra Nevada, and southern Cascade Range. CalFlora Database: Purshia tridentata . accessed 9.22.2013 Brian Vanden Heuvel & Thomas J. Rosatti 2016. Purshia tridentata, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, accessed 19 June 2016 Further north it occurs at lower elevations, such as at in British Columbia. E-FLORA BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

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Ecology

The shrub is an important forage plant for many game animals, including deer, especially during the winter.

Stephen Whitney (1985). 9780394731278, Knopf. . ISBN 9780394731278

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External links

• Central Washington Native Plants: Antelope bitterbrush
• Range Plants of Utah: Purshia tridentata (Antelope bitterbrush)

Categories: Tridentata, Flora Of The Northwestern United States, Flora Of The Southwestern United States, Flora Of British Columbia, Flora Of California, Flora Of New Mexico, Flora Of Wyoming, Flora Of The Cascade Range, Flora Of The Great Basin, Flora Of The Rocky Mountains, Flora Of The Sierra Nevada, Natural History Of The Peninsular Ranges, Taxa Named By Augustin Pyramus De Candolle, Flora Without Expected Tnc Conservation Status

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