Micromeria douglasii
| Yerba buena | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Micromeria |
| Species: | M. douglasii |
| Binomial name | |
| Micromeria douglasii (Benth.) Benth.[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Clinopodium douglasii (Benth.) Kuntze | |
Micromeria douglasii, yerba buena[1] is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to California.[2] The plant takes the form of a sprawling, mat-forming perennial, and is especially abundant close to the coast.[3]
Molecular evidence places the species within the Clinopodium complex rather than Micromeria.[4]
Name
The plant's most common name, "yerba buena", the same in English and Spanish, is an alternate form of the Spanish hierba buena (meaning "good herb"). The name was bestowed by pioneer Catholic priests of Alta California as they settled an area where the plant is native. It was so abundant there that its name was also applied to the settler's town adjacent to Mission San Francisco de Asís. In 1846, the town of Yerba Buena was seized by the United States during the Mexican-American War, and its name was changed in 1847 to San Francisco, after a nearby mission. Three years later, the name was applied to a nearby rocky island; today millions of commuters drive through the tunnel on Yerba Buena Island that connects the spans of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. Yerba buena is also used as a common name for other plants with aromatic foliage.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Micromeria douglasii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ↑ "PLANTS Profile for Clinopodium douglasii (yerba buena)". NRCS PLANTS database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2007-12-19.
- ↑ Wood, Michael (2003-09-01). "Focus on Rarities, Yerba Buena Chapter, CNPS (Satureja douglasii)". CNPS Yerba Buena Chapter website. California Native Plant Society. Retrieved 2007-12-19. "Website structure doesn't require navigation to the linked index page and then selection of the 'Yerba buena' article"
- ↑ Bräuchler, C, et al. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2010 May;55(2):501-23 Molecular phylogeny of Menthinae (Lamiaceae, Nepetoideae, Mentheae) --Taxonomy, biogeography and conflicts
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Micromeria douglasii. |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Micromeria douglasii |
- USDA Plants database Clinopodium douglasii (Benth.) Kuntze
- Jepson Manual treatment Satureja douglasii (Benth.) Briq.