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Bitterbrush

Bitterbrush (l) and Rabbitbrush (r) sprout from deformed lava flows along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (CA-89) (10/7/19) Martha Fletcher

Its name bespeaks the hard life it endures. Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) is a member of the rose family, a shrub that thrives on arid mountainsides.

Martha Fletcher found it, along with bright yellow rabbitbrush, pushing up out of deformed lava flows south of Burney Mountain (7,863′) and close to Twin Buttes (5,340′) along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (CA-89), today.

Creamy yellow flowers cover bitterbrush branches in springtime, but now their brittle reddish-brown stems bare similarly colored leaves.

  • Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (7,000′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
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