Ambrosia dumosa

Last updated

Ambrosia dumosa
Ambrosia dumosa 2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Ambrosia
Species:
A. dumosa
Binomial name
Ambrosia dumosa
Synonyms [1] [2]
  • Franseria albicaulisTorr.
  • Franseria dumosaA.Gray
  • Gaertnera dumosa(A.Gray) Kuntze
  • Gaertneria dumosa(A.Gray) Kuntze

Ambrosia dumosa, the burro-weed or white bursage, a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is a common constituent of the creosote-bush scrub community throughout the Mojave Desert of California, Nevada, and Utah and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and northwestern Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua). [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Ambrosia dumosa has been studied to determine allelopathic interactions with creosote bush, Larrea tridentata , which produces a chemical that inhibits the growth of A. dumosa.[ citation needed ] Other studies have suggested that A. dumosa roots produce a chemical that causes them to grow away from conspecific roots, preventing competition for water resources. In addition to burro-weed, A. dumosa is also commonly called white bursage, and burrobush.

Description

Ambrosia dumosa or white bursage is a form of ragweed, is a highly branched shrub 20 to 90 cm in height. The younger stems are covered with soft gray-white hairs. Approximately obovate leaves are 1 to 3 times pinnately compound or deeply lobed and generally clustered on short branches. The leaves are 0.5 to 4 cm long and also covered in soft gray-white hairs. [3]

Its inflorescence is yellow with staminate and pistillate headson a single plant (monoecious). Staminate heads have many flowers and are 3 to 5 mm in diameter with a 5 to 8 lobed involucre. Pistillate heads are 2 flowered and lack corollas. [3]

Ambrosia dumosa has spherical bur-like fruits ranging in color from golden to purple to brown. Along with microscopic hairs, the fruit has 12 to 35 flat and straight spines which are 5 to 9 mm in length and scattered over the surface. [7] [3]

Ambrosia dumosa becomes dormant during drought, losing all of its leaves to prevent water loss by transpiration; drought deciduous. During this time, it can still be recognized by the presence of longitudinal stripes on smaller stems. [7]

Like other types of Ambrosia, this is a ragweed, wind-blown pollen from burro-weed can cause serious allergic reactions. Increasing cases in Mojave Desert as the population grows from Joshua Tree, CA to Las Vegas, NV.

Related Research Articles

<i>Larrea tridentata</i> Species of plant

Larrea tridentata, called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and gobernadora in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called hediondilla; Spanish hediondo = "smelly".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ragweed</span> Genus of plants

Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America, where the origin and center of diversity of the genus are in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Several species have been introduced to the Old World and some have naturalized and have become invasive species. In Europe, this spread is expected to continue, due to ongoing climate change.

<i>Ambrosia ambrosioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia ambrosioides, also known as canyon ragweed or chicura, is a ragweed found in the deserts of northern Mexico, Arizona, and California.

<i>Ambrosia acanthicarpa</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia acanthicarpa is a North American species of bristly annual plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus Ambrosia are called ragweeds. The species has common names including flatspine bur ragweed, Hooker's bur-ragweed, annual burrweed, annual bur-sage, and western sand-bur. The plant is common across much of the western United States and in the Prairie Provinces of Canada.

<i>Lycium andersonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium andersonii is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its common names include water-jacket, redberry desert-thorn, Anderson thornbush, Anderson's desert thorn, Anderson boxthorn, Anderson lycium, Anderson wolfberry, and squawberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Colorado River Valley</span> Landform in Arizona and California

The Lower Colorado River Valley (LCRV) is the river region of the lower Colorado River of the southwestern United States in North America that rises in the Rocky Mountains and has its outlet at the Colorado River Delta in the northern Gulf of California in northwestern Mexico, between the states of Baja California and Sonora. This north–south stretch of the Colorado River forms the border between the U.S. states of California/Arizona and Nevada/Arizona, and between the Mexican states of Baja California/Sonora.

<i>Sphaeralcea ambigua</i> Species of flowering plant

Sphaeralcea ambigua, is a species of flowering plant commonly known as desert globemallow or apricot mallow, is a member of the genus Sphaeralcea in the mallow family (Malvaceae).

<i>Ambrosia chamissonis</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia chamissonis is a species of ragweed known by the common names silver burr ragweed, silver beachweed and (silver) beach bur(r).

<i>Ambrosia chenopodiifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia chenopodiifolia is a species of ragweed known by the common names San Diego bursage and San Diego bur ragweed. It is native to the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, as well as to Orange and San Diego Counties it int US State of California. It is a member of the coastal sage scrub plant community.

<i>Ambrosia confertiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia confertiflora is a North American species of ragweed known by the common name weakleaf bur ragweed.

<i>Ambrosia eriocentra</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia eriocentra is a North American species of ragweed known by the common names woolly bursage and woollyfruit burr ragweed.

<i>Ambrosia ilicifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia ilicifolia is a species of ragweed known by the common names hollyleaf burr ragweed and hollyleaf bursage.

<i>Ambrosia pumila</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia pumila is a rare species of herbaceous perennial plant known by the common names San Diego ragweed and San Diego ambrosia. It is native to far southern California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It grows in floodplains and open grasslands in proximity to wetland areas.

<i>Tetracoccus hallii</i> Species of shrub

Tetracoccus hallii is a species of flowering shrub in the family Picrodendraceae, known by the common names Hall's shrubby-spurge and Hall's tetracoccus.

<i>Ambrosia deltoidea</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia deltoidea is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names triangle bur ragweed, triangle bursage, and triangleleaf bursage.

<i>Ambrosia salsola</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia salsola, commonly called cheesebush, winged ragweed, burrobush, white burrobrush, and desert pearl, is a species of perennial shrub in the family Asteraceae native to deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

<i>Hilaria rigida</i> Species of grass

Hilaria rigida is a species of clumping perennial grass that is widespread in California deserts. It is commonly known as big galleta. It is a monocot in the Hilaria genus of the grass family (Poaceae).

<i>Ambrosia cordifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia cordifolia, called the Tucson bur ragweed, is a North American species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to northern Mexico and the State of Arizona in the United States.

<i>Ambrosia monogyra</i> Species of flowering plant

Ambrosia monogyra is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family commonly known as the singlewhorl burrobrush, leafy burrobush, slender burrobush, and desert fragrance. Ambrosia monogyra is native to North America and is typically found in canyons, desert washes, and ravines throughout arid parts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This species has green, threadlike leaves that emit a distinctive odor when crushed, and flowers from August to November. The fruits have distinctive wings in their middle that aid in dispersion through wind and water.

References

  1. Tropicos, Ambrosia dumosa (A. Gray) W.W. Payne
  2. The Plant List, Ambrosia dumosa (A.Gray) W.W.Payne
  3. 1 2 3 4 Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 13 Bursage Ambrosia dumosa (A. Gray) W. W. Payne, J. Arnold Arbor. 45: 422. 1964.
  4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. Calflora taxon report, University of California, Ambrosia dumosa (A. Gray) Payne Burrobush, burro weed, white bursage
  6. Tropicos, specimen listing for Ambrosia dumosa (A. Gray) W.W. Payne
  7. 1 2 Allen A.Schoenerr, Allen A. 1992. A Natural History of California. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   0-520-06922-6