rabbitbrush

American  

[rab-it-bruhsh] / ˈræb ɪtˌbrʌʃ /

noun

1. any of several composite shrubs of the genus Chrysothamnus, of the western U.S. and Mexico, having whitish, hairy branches and yellow flowers.

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Etymology

Origin of rabbitbrush

1860–65; rabbit + brush ²; so called because it provides shelter for jackrabbits

Example Sentences

Perched on a broad alluvial fan dotted with rabbitbrush and Joshua trees, this ragtag community of artists, misanthropes and urban refugees has little time for politicians.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2022

Many look for nectar on dandelion, rabbitbrush, Canada thistle, osier dogwood and chokecherry.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 27, 2021

The fields below had turned an arid brown by April and May, yet at this elevation the bloom was still in progress: I saw purple lupine, scarlet paintbrush, yellow rabbitbrush.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 6, 2016

June and July are their peak months; later-season tourists will find sunflowers, asters and rabbitbrush.

From Washington Post • Aug. 15, 2016

We peered, hands over foreheads, at the huge Western sky, as rabbitbrush and sage scuffled in the wind.

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2013