Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
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| Used with permission of Glenn and Martha Vargas © California Academy of Sciences. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Esser, Lora L. 1993. Encelia frutescens. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/encfru/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION:
ENCFRU
SYNONYMS:
Encelia frutescens forma virginensis Hall
Encelis frutescens var. virginensis Blake
NRCS PLANT CODE:
ENFR
COMMON NAMES:
button brittlebush
brittlebush
bush encelia
TAXONOMY:
The scientific name for button brittlebush 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
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Button brittlebush 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].
 |
| Distribution of button brittlebush in the United States. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, July 6] [22]. |
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
STATES:
AZ CA NV UT
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:
Button brittlebush 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, button brittlebush is found in xeroriparian communities and
arroyo habitats [15].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
In arroyo habitats of southwestern Utah, button brittlebush is important to
the desert tortoise as a source of succulent forage in periods of low
moisture [15]. The seeds produced by brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), a
species of the genus Encelia similar to button brittlebush, 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, button
brittlebush provides important habitat and environmental cover for the
desert tortoise [15].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
Button brittlebush is an early colonizer of disturbed sites. Disturbances
such as debris flows, borrow pit excavations, and drainage channels are
colonized rapidly by button brittlebush [18,23]. The population of button
brittlebush 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]. Button brittlebush
is an occasional plant on disturbed sites in the Mercury Valley and
Amargosa Valley of southern Nevada [27].
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Button brittlebush 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 button brittlebush have flat
surfaces and low mass, accounting for their excellent lofting ability
[14]. The lifespan of button brittlebush is unknown but is judged to be a few
decades [24].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM:
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES:
Button brittlebush 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 button brittlebush contains two
hairy awns on the tip that catch wind currents [14].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Button brittlebush 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]. Button brittlebush 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]. Button brittlebush 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]. Button brittlebush
inhabits naturally disturbed areas such as drainage channels and areas
with substrate alterations [18].
Elevation: In the Mojave and Colorado deserts of southern California,
button brittlebush occurs at elevations from 1,700 to 6,000 feet (525-1,830 m)
[18,25]. On rocky slopes and mesas of Arizona, button brittlebush 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,
button brittlebush 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 button brittlebush 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:
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.
Button brittlebush 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]. Button brittlebush 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 button
brittlebush occurred following the excavation. The heavily disturbed bottom
of the pit was colonized by a scrub community of low bushes dominated by
button brittlebush [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, button brittlebush
was less common than in the more heavily disturbed sites. The plant
density of button brittlebush 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
button brittlebush 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]. Button brittlebush is probably drought
deciduous, as are other species of Encelia [28].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:
Information regarding the fire ecology of button brittlebush is sparse. It is
assumed that, like other desert Encelia, it depends on off-site seed
rather than on-site sprouts for regeneration following fire [28].
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
No information was available on this topic as of 1993.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
No information was available on this topic as of 1993.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
The seeds of button brittlebush are well adapted to wind dispersal. White
brittlebush will seed into burned-over areas, and it is assumed that
button brittlebush will also. Areas of the desert important to the desert
tortoise that have been burned could be seeded with button brittlebush for
habitat improvement [28].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Encelia frutescens
REFERENCES:
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