Chrysothamnus vaseyi

Chrysothamnus vaseyi is a species of flowering plant in tribe Astereae in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is native to the Southwestern United States. The specific epithet vaseyi honors the American botanist George Vasey. The species is commonly called Vasey's rabbitbrush.

Chrysothamnus vaseyi
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Chrysothamnus
Species:	C. vaseyi
Binomial name
Chrysothamnus vaseyi (A.Gray) Greene
Synonyms[2]
Homotypic synonyms Aster vaseyi (A.Gray) Kuntze Bigelowia vaseyi A.Gray Ericameria vaseyi (A.Gray) L.C.Anderson Heterotypic synonyms Chrysothamnus bakeri Greene

Description

Chrysothamnus vaseyi is a branching shrub up to 30 cm (12 inches) tall with tan or gray bark, becoming flaky as it gets old. It has many small, yellow flower heads clumped into dense arrays.

Taxonomy

Chrysothamnus vaseyi was first described as Bigelowia vaseyi by the American botanist Asa Gray in 1876.^[3] The type specimen was collected by George Vasey at Middle Park in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in 1868.^[4] The American botanist Edward Lee Greene placed Bigelowia vaseyi in genus Chrysothamnus in 1895.^[5] As of January 2025^[update], Chrysothamnus vaseyi (A.Gray) Greene is a widely accepted name.^[2][6]

Distribution and habitat

Chrysothamnus vaseyi has been found in Utah, Colorado, northern New Mexico, southern Wyoming, northern Arizona (Navajo County) and eastern Nevada (White Pine County).^[7] It grows in open woodlands alongside pine and oak.^[8]