Anemopsis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Magnoliids |
Order: | Piperales |
Family: | Saururaceae |
Genus: | Anemopsis Hook. & Arn. |
Species: | A. californica |
Binomial name | |
Anemopsis californica (Nutt.) Hook. & Arn. | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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The monotypic genus Anemopsis has only one species, Anemopsis californica, with the common names yerba mansa or lizard tail.
It is a perennial herb in the lizard tail family (Saururaceae) and prefers very wet soil or shallow water. [3]
It is native to southwestern North America in northwest Mexico and the Southwestern United States from California to Oklahoma and Texas to Kansas to Oregon. It grows in wet, alkaline marsh and creek edges. [4]
As it matures, the visible part of the plant develops red stains, eventually turning bright red in the fall. [5]
Yerba mansa is showy in spring when in bloom. The iconic white "flowers" (actually reduced inflorescences, or pseudanthia) are borne in early spring, and are surrounded by 4–9 large white bracts. [6]
Similar to the family Asteraceae, what appears to be a single bloom is in reality a dense cluster of individually small flowers borne in an inflorescence. In this species the inflorescence is conical and has five to ten large white bracts beneath it, so that along with the tiny white florets, the whole structure is quite striking when it blooms in spring. The conical structure develops into a single, tough fruit that can be carried downstream to spread the tiny, pepper-like seeds. [7]
In her book on herbs of the southwestern USA, Dr. Soule discusses the common name. "Yerba mansa is one of those names which confounds linguists. Yerba is Spanish for herb, and thus one would think that mansa is also from Spanish as well, but all indications point to the fact that it is not. Mansa means tame, peaceful, calm in Spanish, and the plant has no sedative effect, nor did local people ever use it as a calming agent. Its primary use is as an antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal. The most likely explanation is that mansa is a Spanish alteration of the original native word for the plant, now lost in the depths of time." [8] Hartweg, who collected it at León, Guanajuato in 1837, recorded the local name as yerba del manso. [9] It is also known as yerba del manso in northern Baja California. The word "manso" could be short for "remanso" (backwater) which would agree with the areas where the plant thrives.
Yerba mansa is used as an antimicrobial, an antibacterial, and to treat vaginal candidiasis. [5] [10] [ medical citation needed ]
Yerba mansa is used to treat inflammation of the mucous membranes, swollen gums and sore throat. An infusion of roots can be taken as a diuretic to treat rheumatic diseases like gout by ridding the body of excess uric acid, which causes painful inflammation of the joints. Yerba mansa prevents the buildup of uric acid crystals in the kidneys which could cause kidney stones if left untreated. A powder of dried root can be sprinkled on infected areas to alleviate athlete's foot or diaper rash. [11] [12] [ medical citation needed ]
Yerba mansa is versatile. It can be taken orally as a tea, tincture, infusion or dried in capsule form. It can be used externally for soaking inflamed or infected areas. It can be ground and used as a dusting powder. Some people in Las Cruces, New Mexico use the leaves to make a poultice to relieve muscle swelling and inflammation. [13] [ medical citation needed ] The leaves and roots have also been used to heal and disinfect wounds and sores. [14]
Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs are used in herbal medicine. Some herbal blends contain actual tea.
An astringent is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin adstringere, which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian plant, are astringents, as are the powdered leaves of the myrtle.
Encelia farinosa, is a common desert shrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has a variety of historical uses.
Ligusticum porteri, also known as oshá, wild parsnip, Porter’s Lovage or wild celery, is a perennial herb found in parts of the Rocky Mountains and northern New Mexico, especially in the southwestern United States.
Porophyllum linaria is a sunny short-lived perennial plant used in Mexican cuisine, where it is often used to flavor meat dishes. It has a strong taste akin to fresh coriander with overtones of lemon and anise.
Calendula officinalis, the pot marigold, common marigold, ruddles, Mary's gold or Scotch marigold, is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is probably native to southern Europe, though its long history of cultivation makes its precise origin unknown, and it may possibly be of garden origin. It is also widely naturalised farther north in Europe and elsewhere in warm temperate regions of the world.
Chungtia is an Ao Naga village in Nagaland, India. It lies in the Ongpangkong range and is located 16 km north-west of Mokokchung. The Mokokchung-Mariani Highway passes through its eastern corner. It is located at an altitude of 3,362 feet (1,025 m) above sea level.
Eriodictyon is a genus of plants known by the common name yerba santa within the Hydrophylloideae subfamily of the borage family, Boraginaceae. They are distributed throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico.
Prunella vulgaris, the common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort or blue curls, is an herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae.
Rosa californica, the California wildrose, or California rose, is a species of rose native to the U.S. states of California and Oregon and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico. The plant is native to chaparral and woodlands and the Sierra Nevada foothills, and can survive drought, though it grows most abundantly in moist soils near water sources.
Baccharis salicifolia is a blooming shrub native to the sage scrub community and desert southwest of the United States and northern Mexico, as well as parts of South America. Its usual common name is mule fat; it is also called seepwillow or water-wally. This is a large bush with sticky foliage which bears plentiful small, fuzzy, pink or red-tinged white flowers which are highly attractive to butterflies. The long pointed leaves may be toothed and contain three lengthwise veins. It is most common near water sources.
Baccharis sarothroides is a North American species of flowering shrub known by the common names broom baccharis, desertbroom, greasewood, rosin-bush and groundsel in English and "escoba amarga" or "romerillo" in Spanish. This is a spreading, woody shrub usually sticky with glandular secretions along the primarily leafless green stems. The small, thick leaves are a few centimeters long and are absent much of the year, giving the shrub a spindly, twiggy appearance. It flowers abundantly with tiny green blooms on separate male and female plants.
Trixis californica , the American threefold or American trixis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southwestern United States in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in Mexico in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.
Brickellia californica, known by the common name California brickellbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Aloysia wrightii is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by the common names Wright's beebrush and oreganillo. It is native to the Sonoran Desert of southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it can be found in moist desert canyons, scrub, and woodland habitat. This is a thickly branching shrub which reaches nearly two meters in maximum height and is generally rounded in form. It has small, oval-shaped to nearly round leaves each no more than two centimeters long. The leaves have lightly toothed edges and hairy undersides. The inflorescence is a narrow, woolly spike up to 6 centimeters long, with small, widely spaced white flowers. It is a valuable nectar source for native solitary bees. It is also larval and adult food plant for the rustic sphinx moth (Manduca rustica).
Porophyllum gracile is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names odora and slender poreleaf. It is native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States from California to Texas, where it can be found in rocky and sandy desert scrub habitat.
A. californica may refer to:
Pectis papposa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it occurs in the southwestern United States as far east as Texas, and in northern Mexico. Common names include cinchweed, common chinchweed, many-bristle chinchweed, and many-bristle fetid-marigold.
This is a list of plants used by the indigenous people of North America. For lists pertaining specifically to the Cherokee, Iroquois, Navajo, and Zuni, see Cherokee ethnobotany, Iroquois ethnobotany, Navajo ethnobotany, and Zuni ethnobotany.
See also Zuni ethnobotany, and Native American ethnobotany.