General: Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), also called Goldenhills, is a rounded, knee-high to thigh-high shrub with relatively large gray leaves and with many flower stalks extending above the tight ball of leaves. Each flower stalk is tipped with a large, yellow, daisy flower. The flower stalks are branched and persist after the flower petals have dropped. The leaves covered in soft, canescent (felt-like) hairs.

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.

Brittlebush is similar to a related species, Virgin River Brittlebush (Encelia virginensis), but in Virgin River Brittlebush, the flower stalks are unbranched, and the leaves are smaller and rough-hairy.

Brittlebush is also similar to Netvein Goldeneye, but in Encelia, the upper leaves are alternate and the dorsal leaf surfaces are smooth, while in Viguiera the upper leaves are opposite and the dorsal leaf surfaces show veins.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other names: brittlebush, brittle bush, inceinso, Goldenhills

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 relatively large, gray leaves.

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

Bark: Gray.

Stems: Woody base with many short branches.

Leaves: Triangular (2 inches long), with a narrow tip and broad (1/2 to 1 inch wide) base, simple, smooth edge, alternate; silvery-gray to whitish; underside more hairy. Leaves located toward the ends of branches.

Flowers: Blooms in spring, also sporadically throughout the summer and fall in response to rain. Flowers daisy-like, yellow, 2-inch diameter, held on long, branching stalks above the leaves.

Seeds: Many small seeds; dispersed long distances by wind.

Habitat: Hot, dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils.

Elevation: To about 3,000 feet.

Distribution: Occurs across the southern deserts from California to southwestern Utah and south into Baja California and northwestern Mexico.

Comments: 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.

Brittlebush is hardy and easy to grow (transplants and seeds), making it useful for rehabilitating disturbed areas and for use in low maintenance landscapes (e.g., roadsides).

Brittlebush leaves produce a toxic substance that inhibits the growth of winter annuals.