General: Virgin River Brittlebush (Encelia virginensis) is a rounded, knee-high to thigh-high shrubs with medium-sized gray leaves and with many unbranched flower stalks extending above the tight ball of leaves. Each flower stalk is tipped with one large daisy flower. The ray flowers are yellow, while the disk flowers are orange (or at least darker yellow). The unbranched flowerstalks persist after the leaves are dropped.

Virgin River Brittlebush is a common component of vegetation communities along washes, on bajadas, and on the lower slopes of mountains in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone. It can also be common component of hot, dry vegetation communities in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) life zone.

Virgin River Brittlebush is similar to a related species, Goldenhills [Brittlebush] (Encelia farinosa), but in Goldenhills, the flower stalks are branched, and the leaves are larger.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other names: brittle bush

Plant Form: Small to medium sized, drought-deciduous shrub with a woody base and a rounded, much-branched form. A thicket of small branches supports an umbrella of gray leaves.

Height: Usually about knee-high; to 3 ft.

Bark: Gray.

Stems: Woody base with many short branches.

Leaves: Leaves located toward the ends of branches. Triangular (1 inch long), with a narrow tip and broad (1/2-inch wide) base, simple, smooth edge, alternate. Leaves gray-green and covered canescent (felt-like) hairs interspersed with strigose (stiff) hairs, which give the leaves a rough, sandpaper-like feel.

Flowers: Blooms in spring, also sporadically throughout the summer and fall (as late as late November) in response to rain. Flowers daisy-like, yellow, about 2-inch diameter, held on long, unbranched stalks above the leaves. Ray flowers 11-21. Receptacle flat to convex.

Seeds: Many small seeds per flowerhead; dispersed long distances by wind. Individual seeds flattened with thin edges and a ciliate margin.

Habitat: Well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils.

Elevation: About 1,500 to 4,500 feet.

Distribution: Occurs across the southwestern deserts from southern California to the southwest corner of Utah and southwest corner of New Mexico, and south into Mexico.

Comments: Virgin River Brittlebush is browsed by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), but it has little value for domestic livestock. Kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.) eat the seeds.