Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Openings, shrublands. Summer.
Near McPhee Reservoir, July 21, 2005.

Tetradymia canescens is a small bush from a few inches tall to three feet. It inhabits dry foothill meadows and stands out especially because of its very gray (Latin: "canescens") leaves and, in blooming time, because of its massing of golden flowers.  Tetradymia canescens is easily mistaken for Rabbitbrush and is a close cousin.

"Tetradymos" means "four-sided", referring to the shape of the flower bracts.

The first plant of this species was collected for science by David Douglas near the Columbia River in the early 1830s. This was the first member of its genus and the genus and this plant were named by Augustin de Candolle in 1838.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Openings, shrublands. Summer.
Near McPhee Reservoir, July 21, 2005.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Openings, shrublands. Summer.
Near McPhee Reservoir, July 21, 2005.

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings, shrublands. Spring.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, April 27, 2007.

Although this species of Tetradymia shares a number of characteristics with T. canescens, it is distinguished in two major ways:  it has very prominent hooked spines (visible in the photograph below) and it blooms in the spring, not summer.  T. spinosa is densely white hairy and this lures you to touching it, but the spines quickly put an end to this intimacy.  Flowers are brilliant yellow and numerous.

William Hooker and George Arnott named this species in 1839 from a specimen collected by Tolmie in Idaho.

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings, shrublands. Spring.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, April 27, 2007.

The branch at the left side of the photograph is young and its just developing spines are pliable and not too threatening; the branch at top right grew last year, is now woody, and shows the fully developed curved, sharp, blood-letting spines.

Semi-desert, foothills. Openings, shrublands. Spring.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, April 27, 2007.