Grindelia squarrosa

Grindelia squarrosa
Curlycup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astereae
Genus: Grindelia
Species: G. squarrosa
Binomial name
Grindelia squarrosa
(Pursh) Dunal
Synonyms[1]
Wikispecies has information related to: Grindelia squarrosa
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A form with rayless flowers is sometimes considered a distinct species.

Grindelia squarrosa, also known as a curly-top gumweed or curlycup gumweed, is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant.[2]

It is native to western and central North America, from British Columbia east to Québec and New England, and south as far as California, Arizona, Chihuahua, and Texas. The species may possibly be naturalized in much of the eastern part of that distribution.[3][4][5][6]

Description

Grindelia squarrosa is often found in disturbed roadsides, streamsides; 700–2,300 metres (2,300–7,500 ft) in elevation. It is a decumbent to erect, much-branched perennial herb of subshrub up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. The 1.5–7 cm leaves are gray-green, crenate with each tooth having a yellow bump near its tip, and resinous.[5][7]

Grindelia squarrosaproduces numerous flower heads in open, branching arrays. Each head usually contains 12-40 yellow ray flowers, though sometimes the rays are absent. These surround many small disc flowers. The plant blooms from July through late September.[5][8][7]

Varieties

Uses

Grindelia squarrosa is a notable native pollinators plant in its natural habitats, listed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network—NPIN, to be of "Special Value to Native Bees."[6]

The plant concentrates selenium, and can be toxic when ingested by cattle, humans, and other mammals.[5]

Native American medicinal plant

Grindelia squarrosa was used by Great Plains Tribes as a medicinal herb to treat illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis or skin rashes.[6][12][13]

It was used as a traditional medicinal plant by Shoshone peoples in various regions.[12] The Gosiute band dialect's Shoshone language name for the plant is mu’-ha-kûm.[14] The Lakota language name for the plant is pteíčhiyuȟa.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.