CHAMISE (Adenostoma f asciculat ism) . A North American shrub of the rose family (Rosaceae), called also chamiso, found in the chaparral belt on foothills and mountain slopes in Cali fornia, ranging up to 5,000 ft. altitude. It grows from 2 ft. to io ft. high, with shreddy brown bark; slender twiggy branches ; resin ous, narrow leaves in bundles or fascicles, and small white flow ers in panicled clusters. Chamise is the most abundant and char acteristic small shrub of the higher foothills west of the Sierra Nevada, where, between the lower foothills and the yellow pine belt, it often forms a distinct zone called chamisal. (See CHAP ARRAL.)