Brickellia

Brickellia
Brickellia californica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Asteroideae
Tribe:	Eupatorieae
Genus:	Brickellia Ell.
Species
About 100, see text

Brickellia is a genus of about 100 species of plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), known commonly as brickellbushes. They are found in North America, Mexico, and Central America. Many species are native to the American southwest, especially Texas. Brickellia is among the more basal lineages of the Eupatorieae and should not be assigned to a subtribe pending further research.

They are mostly woody perennial shrubs. Some species have a very strong pleasant scent, while others smell distasteful. All contain high amounts of essential oils, and Germacrene D, a natural insecticide, is found in B. veronicaefolia and probably other if not all species.

Regardless their chemical defense, brickellbushes are food for caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera. These include the noctuid moths Schinia buta (only known from California Brickellbush, B. californica), Schinia gracilenta (known from False Boneset, B. eupatorioides), Schinia oleagina (only known from this genus) and Schinia trifascia.

Classification

The genera Brickelliastrum (United States and Mexico), Asanthus (United States and Mexico), Dyscritogyne (Mexico), and Steviopsis have been separated from Brickellia by many 20th century authors (and all four combined into Steviopsis by some). Their correct placement is still unclear.

Selected species

• Brickellia amplexicaulis – Earleaf Brickellbush
• Brickellia arguta – Pungent Brickellbush
• Brickellia brachyphylla – Plumed Brickellbush
• Brickellia californica – California Brickellbush
• Brickellia coixtlahuaca
• Brickellia cordifolia – Flyr's Nemesis
• Brickellia coulteri – Coulter's Brickellbush
• Brickellia cylindracea – Gravelbar Brickellbush
• Brickellia desertorum – Desert Brickellbush
• Brickellia eupatorioides – False Boneset
• Brickellia grandiflora – Tassel-flowered Brickellbush
• Brickellia greenei – Greene's Brickellbush
• Brickellia huahuapana
• Brickellia incana – Woolly Brickellbush
• Brickellia knappiana – Knapp Brickellbush
• Brickellia mosieri – Florida Brickellbush
• Brickellia nevinii – Nevin's Brickellbush
• Brickellia oblongifolia – Mojave Brickellbush, Narrow-leaved Brickellbush
• Brickellia peninsularis
  • Brickellia peninsularis var. amphithalassa
• Brickellia rusbyi – Stinking Brickellbush
• Brickellia venosa – Veiny Brickellbush
• Brickellia veronicaefolia

References

• Rivero-Cruz, Blanca; Rivero-Cruz, Isabel; Rodriguez, Juan M.; Cerda-Garcia-Rojas, Carlos M. & Mata, Rachel (2006): Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the active components of the essential oil from Brickellia veronicaefolia by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Journal of Natural Products 69(8): 1172-1176. doi:10.1021/np060180b S0163-3864(06)00180-7 (HTML abstract)
• Schmidt, Gregory J. & Schilling, Edward E. (2000): Phylogeny and biogeography of Eupatorium (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae) based on nuclear ITS sequence data. Am. J. Bot. 87(5): 716-726. doi:10.2307/2656858 PMID 10811796 PDF fulltext

External links

• USDA Plants Profile: Brickellia
• Jepson Manual Treatment - Brickellia