chamisa

noun

cha·​mi·​sa shə-ˈmē-sə 

chə-

variants or chamiso

shə-ˈmē-(ˌ)sō 

chə-

1

: an evergreen saltbush (Atriplex canescens) having brittle stems, yellow flowers, and winged seeds : four-wing saltbush

2

: a rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) having flexible hairy stems and yellow flowers : rubber rabbitbrush

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish chamiza, chamizo, ultimately from Spanish chamiza brushwood, kindling, from Portuguese or Galician chamiça, from chama flame, from Latin flamma — more at flame

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1