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Glite Dictionary
chamise

chamise

1 9.6
A tough evergreen shrub that grows on dry hills in western North America
  • noun
  • /ʃəˈmiːz/
  • US
: chamise
  • Wildfires often spread quickly through areas dense with chamise due to its oily leaves.
  • manzanita and chamise

Examples

  • Many animals use the shelter of chamise bushes to hide from predators.

  • It moves toward some chamise bushes.

    Academic text (2000)

  • These are often joined on the floodplain and terraces by chaparral species such as chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) from the surrounding hillslopes.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The chamise is a resilient shrub commonly found in California's chaparral regions.

Surface Forms

chamise singular
chamises plural

Etymology

Chamise probably comes from a Spanish word chamizo that meant 'low shrub' or 'thicket'. That's why chamise today names the tough, evergreen shrub that covers many hillsides in California chaparral.