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White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Shrubs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Typical Creosote-Bursage Flats habitat where creosote bush (dark green) and white bursage (gray-white) dominate

White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa) is a short, rounded shrub that often looks like a low mound of white, lifeless twigs. In the spring, however, White Bursage puts on a dense covering of short, lobed, dense-hairy leaves and clusters of tiny, yellow-green flowers. The fruits are a spiny burr.

White Bursage is one of the two signature plants of the southwestern deserts, but it generally remains unnoticed beneath the taller creosote bushes with which it shares the landscape on flats and lower slopes in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Around Las Vegas, look for this species in any lower-elevation desert area.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other names: burrobush, burroweed.

White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Shrub beginning to leaf out in the spring (note white appearance)

Plant Form: Low, rounded shrub with many branches emerging from the ground and radiating up and outward. The stems generally are crooked and divided.

Height: Generally less than knee-high (about 1.5 feet); maximum about 2 feet.

Leaves: 3/4 inch long; light colored (smoke colored) due to dense, short, light-colored hairs. Pinnately divided several times. Leaves present only after rain.

Flowers: greenish; no petals; about 1/8 inch wide. Flowers on a terminal spike. Blooms spring to fall.

White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Ripe fruit: the "burr" in bursage

Seeds: Fruits 1/4-inch long, spiny (not hooked).

Elevation: up to about 3,000 ft.

Distribution: Southern California deserts east to southwestern Utah and eastern Arizona.

Comments: This is one of the most abundant shrubs in the lower-elevation deserts.

White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa) White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa) White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa) White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage during summer
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage in full bloom
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Stems white, dense, branching, and crooked
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Stems white, dense, branching, and crooked
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Stems and green leaves
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Stems and green leaves
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Lobed, hairy leaves
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Lobed, hairy leaves
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Five lobed leaves
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
One rather large, lobed leaf
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage covered with flowers
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage covered with flowers
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage covered with flowers
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flower buds
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flower buds and open flowers
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flower buds and open flowers
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Fresh flowers
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Fresh flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Fresh flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old flowers and ripening fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowers and developing fruits
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Spent flowers and developing seeds
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Spent flowers and developing seeds
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Ripening seeds
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Ripening seeds
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage seeds on the ground
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage seeds on the ground
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage seeds on the ground
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
White Bursage seeds on the ground
White Bursage seeds on the ground
Ripe fruit; these are the burrs from the Bur-sage.
White Bursage seeds on the ground
Ripe fruit; these are the burrs from the Bur-sage.
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
During summer and winter, plants drop leaves and show white stems
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
During summer and winter, plants drop leaves and show white stems
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
During summer and winter, plants drop leaves and show white stems
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
During summer and winter, plants drop leaves and show white stems
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old flower stalks persist on the plants
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Flowering stalk with a few seeds
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old flower stalks stand above the mass of the plant
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old flower stalks stand above the mass of the plant
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old flower stalks stand show zig-zag tips
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old flower stalks stand show zig-zag tips and characteristic spur
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Dried leaves and white stems during summer
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Dried leaves and white stems during summer
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Dried leaves and white stems during summer
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old seed and white stems during summer
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old bird nest in White Bursage bush
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old bird nest in White Bursage bush
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa)
Old bird nest in White Bursage bush
more to come
More to come ...

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 240912

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