Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Coleogyne is a monotypic genus in the rose family containing the single species Coleogyne ramosissima, which is known by the common name blackbrush. This thorny, aromatic shrub is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States. It is a thickly branched thicket which may spread across the ground in clumps or grow erect to approach two meters in height. It is drought-deciduous, such that its branches are covered in clumps of fuzzy thick leaves until the hottest, driest parts of the desert year when it drops some of its foliage and becomes dormant for the season. This plant forms vast monotypic stands across the desert floor and on scrubby slopes. Flowering is triggered by a heavy spring rain in this desert-adapted species. The leathery flowers grow at the ends of small stems. They are encased in thick, fuzzy sepals which are yellow inside and reddish or orange on the outer surface. There are no petals, but the sepals remain after the flower opens, surrounding the patch of whiskery stamens and the central pistil. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long. The plant reproduces from seed, but very rarely. The seeds do not disperse well and seedlings do not survive in large numbers. A narrow range of temperature and moisture is required for the reproduction of this species, so it is sporadic, but the plants are hardy and long-lived.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

5 - 7 ft Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Slow

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow, Orange, Red

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Hedge

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade, Deep Shade

Water

Very Low

Soil description

Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Site type

Dry open slopes

Plant communities

Creosote Bush Scrub, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Dasyfidonia macdunnoughi

Spaelotis unicava