Chamise is a shrub which is common in California. It is a part of the chaparral community, a thick mass of shrubs which covers the dry hillsides of the state. Chamise is noted for its small leaves and its extremely dense foliage form. It coats the dry south-facing slopes of hillsides of California in impenetrable masses. Chamise reproduces by suckering as well as by seed, and after a fire it will resprout from the roots. It provides important habitat for wildlife, and prevents thick hillsides from sliding with its deep roots.