Bebbia juncea
Sweetbush
An herbaceous broom or rush-like shrub with aromatic foliage, growing up to 3-4'. Yellow to orange flowers can bloom almost any time of year.
Full to part sun, moderate water when established, provide good drainage. Cold hardiness untested but it is native to 4000' in elevation, so probably hardy at least into the teens °F.
The flowers that are very nectar-rich and along with the resinous foliageg, attracts a large number of insects. Larval host for the Wright's Calephelis (Calephelis wrighti). Birds enjoy the seeds and insects that reside on this plant.
Bebbia is named for Michael Schuck Bebb (1833-1895), an amateur systematic botanist who did extensive work on the genus Salix; juncea means rush-like, which refers to the leafless stems.
Native to low elevation habitats; dry slopes and washes, rocky hillsides, sandy gravelly areas such as desert washes, canyons, scrub habitats, up to 4000' in elevation. Sweetbush is found in the southwestern United States; AZ, CA, NM, NV, TX, UT. A second variety is also native throughout Baja California and northwest Mexico, though sometimes that plant is treated as a separate species, Bebbia atriplicifolia. The largest concentrations of this species are found throughout most of Arizona, southeast California and southeast Nevada.