Dictionary:

chamise

  (chə-mēz') also chamiso (-mē'sō)

An evergreen shrub (Adenostoma fasciculatum) in the rose family, native to California, having small needlelike leaves in fascicles and clusters of small white flowers.

[Spanish chamisa, from Galician chamiça, dry brush, firewood, from chama, flame, from Latin flamma. See flame.]