Encelia farinosa
| Encelia farinosa | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Encelia |
| Species: | E. farinosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Encelia farinosa Torr. & A.Gray |
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Encelia farinosa, or Brittlebush, is a common desert shrub of northwestern Mexico through California and the southwestern United States. Its common name comes from the brittleness of its stems.
Other names include "incienso," and "hierba del vaso" (Spanish) and "cotx" (Seri).[1] The Spanish name is because dried sap was burned by early Spanish Missions in the New World as incense.
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[edit] Habitat
Encelia farinosa can be found in a variety of habitats from dry gravelly slopes to open sandy washes up to 1000 m. It does well in cultivation and recently has spread dramatically in areas not natural to its distribution in large part because Caltrans has begun to use it in hydroseeding.
[edit] Description
Encelia farinosa grows to 1 m-3 ft tall, with fragrant leaves 3–8 cm long, ovate to deltoid, and silvery tomentose. The capitula are 3-3.5 cm diameter, with orange-yellow ray florets and yellow or purple-brown disc florets. They are arranged in loose panicles above the leafy stems fruit 3–6 mm and there is no pappus.
3-Acetyl-6-methoxybenzaldehyde is a chemical compound found in the leaves of E. farinosa.[2]
[edit] Varieties
- Encelia farinosa var. farinosa Gray ex Torr.
- Encelia farinosa var. phenicodonta (Blake) I.M. Johnston ---
dark-eyed brittlebush
- Encelia farinosa var. radians Brandeg. ex Blake
[edit] Uses
Brittlebush has a long history of uses by indigenous and pioneer peoples.
- Glue: The resin collected from the base of the plant is often yellowish to brown in color. This resin can be heated and used as a glue. The O'odham and Seri use it for hafting, to hold points on arrows and harpoons.[3]
- Sealer: A different sort of resin is collected from the upper stems, is more gummy and generally a clear yellow. The Seri use this to seal pottery vessels.[4]
- Gum: The Sells area Tohono O'odham children use upper stem resin as a passable chewing gum.
- Incense: The early Spanish friars learned that this resin made a highly fragrant incense, akin to frankenscense in odor.[5]
- Toothbrush: Oldtime cowboys used brittlebush stem as a fine toothbrush. Simply select a largish branch and peal off the bitter bark, no need for toothpaste.
- Medicinal: Seri use brittlebush to treat toothache. For toothache the bark is removed, the branch heated in ashes, and then placed in the mouth to "harden" a loose tooth.[6]
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Encelia farinosa |
- C.Michael Hogan, ed. 2010. Encelia farinosa. Encyclopedia of Life
- USDA Plants Profile
- ^ Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser, 1985, People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
- ^ Structure Determination and Synthesis of a Plant Growth Inhibitor, 3-Acetyl-6-methoxybenzaldehyde, Found in the Leaves of Encelia Farinosa. Reed Gray and James Bonner, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1948, 70 (3), pp 1249–1253, doi:10.1021/ja01183a114
- ^ Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser, 1985, People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
- ^ Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser, 1985, People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
- ^ Dunmire, W.W. 2004. Gardens of New Spain. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
- ^ Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser, 1985, People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
[edit] External links
- Encelia
- Flora of Northwestern Mexico
- Flora of the California desert regions
- Flora of Arizona
- Flora of Utah
- Flora of Sonora
- Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
- Natural history of the Mojave Desert
- North American desert flora
- Medicinal plants
- Traditional Native American medical plants
- Drought-tolerant plants
- Honey plants
- Garden plants of North America
