Description

‘Nicolas’ chamise is a prostrate selection of this widespread native. It forms a dense mound to about three feet. It shares the qualities of the species (see the entry for Adenostoma fasciculatum) and adds the more compact size and cleaner appearance. ‘Nicolas’ is derived from cuttings taken on St Nicolas Island in 1979. St. Nicolas Island is the California Channel Island most distant from the mainland. It is battered by strong winds for many months of the year, giving rise to this compact “crouching” form. This is the island home of the Chumash woman whose sad story was dramatized in the novel The Island of the Blue Dolphins.