Antelope Bitterbrush

The antelope bitterbrush is a shrub with crowded branches that grow up to three meters in height. It’s leafs are dark green on, underneath is very fuzzy white. It gets its common name by its very bitter taste, yet, it is a preferable food for browsers. Rodents such as pocket mice, deer mice, kangaroo rats, pack rats and yellow pine chipmunks eat the seeds which are high in fat and protein. The bitterbrush, or Purshia tridentate, depends on rodents to expand and reproduce. A symbiotic relationship happens here with the bitterbrush and rodents. It would be mutualism because the rodents get a food source from the shrub and the seeds are spread around by the rodents, helping it reproduce. Its niche lies in succession; it creates more soil for other plants to grow in. Purshia tridentate is a pioneer plant, its partly fire dependent; in case of fire the seeds will open up because of the heat. It is common in recently disturbed areas such as road cuts, gorges, eroded areas, and volcanic deposits. Seedlings are poor competition with other plants, but when a bitterbrush has matured it is difficult for it to die. It has very long tap roots; therefore it can obtain access to water when other plants cannot. Competition among its own species, intraspecific competition, helps with survival. This is because a group of seedlings stand a better chance to survive than a lone seedling. Although they may compete for space, water, among other survival needs, it’s harder for any weed, or any other threat, to overtake a community of shrubs than a single fragile antelope bitterbrush.