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
Wikispecies has information related to: Grindelia squarrosa
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A form with rayless flowers is sometimes considered a separate species.

Grindelia squarrosa, also known as a curly-top gumweed or curlycup gumweed, is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant. [1]

It is native to western and southwestern North America, including the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains regions. [2] It is often found in isturbed roadsides, streamsides; 700–2,300 metres (2,300–7,500 ft) in elevation.

It is an introduced species in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Mid-Atlantic Eastern Seaboard. [3] [4]

Description

Grindelia squarrosa is a decumbent to erect, much-branched plant. It grows to a maximum height of 90 cm (appx. 3 ft). The 1.5–7 cm leaves are gray-green in color, crenate with each tooth having a yellow bump near its tip, and resinous. [3]

It bears Asteraceae family type ray flowers, with 24–36 yellow petals, and is 8–10 mm in diameter. It blooms from July through late September. [3] [5]

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."[4]

The plant concentrates selenium, and can be toxic when ingested by cattle, humans, and other mammals. [3]

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. [9] [4] [10]

It was used as a traditional medicinal plant by Shoshone peoples in various regions.[9] The Gosiute band dialect's Shoshone language name for the plant is mu’-ha-kûm. [11] The Lakota language name for the plant is pteíčhiyuȟa.

See also

References

  1. ↑ ITIS Standard Report Page: Grindelia squarrosa
  2. ↑ USDA: Grindelia squarrosa
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jepson (TJM2)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network—NPIN Database: Grindelia squarrosa (Curlycup gumweed)
  5. ↑ Kansas Wildflowers & Grasses
  6. ↑ USDA: Grindelia squarrosa var. quasiperennis
  7. ↑ USDA: Grindelia squarrosa var. serrulata
  8. ↑ [http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=GRSQS2 USDA: Grindelia squarrosa var. squarrosa
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 University of Michigan at Dearborn, Native American Ethnobotany Database: Grindelia squarrosa
  10. ↑ Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
  11. ↑ Chamberlin, Ralph Vary (1911). "The Ethno-botany of the Gosiute Indians of Utah" (PDF). Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association Vol II, part 5. Retrieved 2007-11-12.

External links