brittlebush

noun

brit·​tle·​bush ˈbri-tᵊl-ˌbu̇sh 

: any of a genus (Encelia) of composite plants having brittle stems

especially : a perennial desert shrub (E. farinosa) of the southwestern U.S. and adjacent Mexico with yellow flowers blooming above dense usually grayish-green foliage

Examples of brittlebush in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lake Pleasant Regional Park The rolling hills above Lake Pleasant are often shaggy with bouquets of brittlebush. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2024

But the park does contain a healthy portion of brittlebush that should be in full bloom around mid-April. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2023

Even if the poppies are sporadic, there’s usually nice color at Lost Dutchman thanks to perennials such as chuparosa, globemallow and brittlebush. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 19 Feb. 2021

Off-roaders have been known to race in the vicinity, with what's left of the town's roofs slanting shadows across doorways and silvery green stands of brittlebush. —Chris Malloy, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 June 2020

There were flowers that sound like Harry Potter creatures — bladder pod, brittlebush, lupine — on the coast, and gifts from the occult — desert star, ghost flowers, phacelia — farther inland. —Danielle Pergament, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2020

Our little patch of Anza-Borrego even came pre-decorated with a yellow brittlebush and pretty red chuparosas. —Danielle Pergament, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2020

At the base lies the saguaro-and-brittlebush landscape of the Sonoran Desert. —Sunset, 22 Jan. 2018

Despite the fact that not a drop of rainwater has fallen in the desert yet this winter, there were actually a few blooming plants, including a brittlebush, tipped with happy yellow flowers, and a few delicate red blossoms on chuparosa bushes. —Ernie Cowan Outdoors, sandiegouniontribune.com, 8 Jan. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for brittlebush

• ambush
• rosebush
• saltbush
• push
• tush