Dimorphocarpa wislizeni

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Dimorphocarpa wislizeni
Dimorphocarpa wislizeni Warner Valley UT.jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Dimorphocarpa
Species:
D. wislizeni
Binomial name
Dimorphocarpa wislizeni
Synonyms

Dithyrea griffithsii Woot. & Standl.
Dithyrea wislizeni Engelm.
Dithyrea wislizeni var. griffithsii(Woot. & Standl.) Payson

Contents

Dimorphocarpa wislizeni, commonly known as spectacle pod, Wislizeni's spectaclepod, and touristplant, is a flowering plant in the mustard family native to western North America, where it occurs in the southwestern United States as far east as Oklahoma and Texas, and Baja California, Sonora, [2] Chihuahua, and Coahuila in Mexico. [3]

Description

This species is an annual herb with a branching or unbranched stem 10 to 80 centimeters tall. The basal leaves are lance-shaped with toothed or lobed edges. Leaves higher on the stem are narrower, with less divided or smooth edges. The flowers have white or lavender petals 4 to 8 millimeters long. The fruit is a double-lobed, winged silicle that breaks in half at maturity, each lobe carrying a flat seed 2 or 3 millimeters wide. [3]

The plant grows in sandy and sandstone substrates [3] in desert shrubland, pinyon-juniper, and ponderosa pine associations. [4]

The seed pods of Dimorphocarpa wislizeni are flat, green, two-lobed capsules that superficially resemble spectacles, hence the common name. This feature makes identification of Spectacle Pod easy.

Uses

The Zuni people applied a warm infusion of the pulverized plant to swelling, especially the throat. A decoction of entire plant was given for delirium. [5] An infusion of the plant was taken by men to "loosen their tongues so they may talk like fools and drunken men." [6] The flower and fruit are eaten as an emetic for stomachaches. [7]

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (2023). "Dimorphocarpa wislizeni". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Dimorphocarpa wislizeni". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Dimorphocarpa wislizeni. Flora of North America.
  4. ↑ Dimorphocarpa wislizeni. NatureServe. 2012.
  5. ↑ Stevenson, M. C. 1915. Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p.48-49)
  6. ↑ Stevenson, p.91
  7. ↑ Camazine, S. and R. A. Bye. 1980. A study of the medical ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2 365-88. (p.375)
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