Purshia tridentata (Pursh) DC.
antelope-brush (antelope bitterbrush; bitter-brush)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
antelope-brush (antelope bitterbrush; bitter-brush)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Medium to tall shrub, 1-2 (3) m tall; stems erect, freely and rigidly branched, twigs woolly-hairy, especially when young.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, in small bundles on short lateral spur-shoots, wedge-shaped, mostly 1-2 cm long, 3-toothed at the tip, silvery-greenish and hairy on the upper surface, grey-woolly beneath, the margins rolled under.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of single, short-stalked flowers at ends of short, lateral, leafy spur-shoots; corollas yellow to cream, wheel-shaped, the petals 5, egg- to spoon-shaped, 5-9 mm long, early-deciduous; calyces bell-shaped, woolly- or cobwebby-hairy and stalked-glandular, 5-lobed, the lobes oblong-egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long; ovaries superior; stamens about 25.
Fruits:
Large achenes, about 15 mm long including the persistent style, ellipsoid-spindle-shaped, somewhat leathery, velvety-hairy and glandular; seeds 1, black, pear-shaped, 6-8 mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Purshia tridentata
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
727 | 280 | 1540 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
21 | 0 | 202 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
215 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
358 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
PP | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(88), IDF(99), MS(2), PP(166) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry open slopes, grasslands and sagebrush shrublands in the steppe and adjoining lower montane zones; common in extreme S BC, east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and south of about 51degreeN; S to MT, WY, CO, NM and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Purshia tridentata var. tridentata