Stats

Lifespan: 100-200 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Chaparral shrubland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Chamise is the most abundant shrub in California chaparral, blanketing coastal and inland hillsides with dense, needle-leaved thickets. Its resinous foliage is intensely flammable, yet the plant resprouts vigorously from its root crown after even severe wildfires.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Adenostoma
Species: Adenostoma fasciculatum