| Eriodictyon crassifolium | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: | Eriodictyon |
| Species: | E. crassifolium |
| Binomial name | |
| Eriodictyon crassifolium | |
Eriodictyon crassifolium, or thickleaf yerba santa, is a shrub in the borage family. "Crassifolium" means "thick leaf." The plant has thick, wooly leaves. It is native to California and Baja California.
Eriodictyon crassifolium is a hairy to woolly shrub growing one to three meters tall. The leaves are up to 17 centimeters long by 6 wide, dark green, and sometimes toothed along the edges. The underside of the leaf is hairy, while the top may be less hairy and more hard and leathery. The inflorescence is a cluster of bell-shaped lavender flowers. The stems are woody and branching.
The plant can be easily confused with E. trichocalyx and E. californicum (two other species of yerba santa) or, more consequentially, with the toxic E. parryi (poodle-dog bush). E. parryi grows in the same environments, but normally in disturbed landscapes such as burn areas. E. parryi is an extremely potent skin irritant. Information about distinguishing the species is given in the article on E. parryi.
It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of habitat, including chaparral, in the coastal and inland hills and mountains, mainly in the Southern California part of the state, south of the latitude of the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo county line and extending from the coast inland through the Coast Ranges and Transverse Ranges. [1] In Baja California, it is found in the vicinity of La Misión, in the northern part of the state. [2]
It grows mostly on dry slopes and in washes. It is commonly found along roadsides, and may also grow on mesas or in river bottoms. [3] [4] It can grow by crown sprouting in disturbed areas.
In the Transverse Ranges, it grows at elevations of up to 2500 m (8000 ft), although it is more common below 1800 m (6000 ft). [5] [6] Plants growing at the lower elevations may be up to 2 m tall and thickly vegetated.
It was traditionally used by the Chumash people to keep airways open for proper breathing. [7] The leaves can be chewed like gum or made into a bitter tea, [8] although some people consider their odor unpleasant.
When gathering the leaves for human consumption, it is important to accurately distinguish the plant from the toxic E. parryi.
Salvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California. Black sage has a dark appearance, especially during drought.
Adenostoma fasciculatum, commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs.
Solanum umbelliferum is a species of nightshade known commonly as bluewitch nightshade, or bluewitch. It can be found in chaparral habitat and low-elevation oak woodlands in California and parts of Baja California and Arizona. It is a small perennial herb or subshrub with dark gray-green oval-shaped leaves on hairy green stems that grow to a maximum height of one meter. It has bright purple or blue frilly flowers with thick yellow anthers at the center. The flowers close into spherical buds overnight. It bears small round green fruits which turn purple when ripe and resemble tiny eggplants.
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.
Eriodictyon californicum is a species of plant within the family Boraginaceae. It is also known as yerba santa, mountain balm, bear's weed, gum bush, gum plant, and consumptive weed. Less common names include Herbe des Montagnes, Herbe à Ourse, Herbe Sacrée, Herbe Sainte, Hierba Santa, Holy Herb, and Tarweed.
Eriodictyon trichocalyx is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name hairy yerba santa.
Eriodictyon angustifolium, common name narrowleaf yerba santa, is a perennial shrub.
Eriodictyon capitatum, the Lompoc yerba santa, is a rare evergreen shrub in the borage family. It is endemic to western Santa Barbara County, in California.
Arctostaphylos glandulosa, with the common name Eastwood's manzanita, is a species of manzanita.
Eriodictyon traskiae is a species of flowering plant in the waterleaf family known by the common names Pacific yerba santa and Trask's yerba santa.
Euphorbia misera is a semi-succulent shrub in the genus Euphorbia commonly known as the cliff spurge or coast spurge. A drought-deciduous shrub, it is typically found as a gnarled, straggly plant occupying seashore bluffs, hills and deserts. Like other members of its genus, it has a milky sap, which can be found exuding out of the light gray bark when damaged. The alternately-arranged leaves are round and folded in the middle, with small hairs on them. The "flowers" can be found blooming year-round, and are colored maroon or yellow in the center with 5 white to light-yellow petal-like appendages attached outside. This species is native to the Baja California peninsula and Sonora in Mexico, and the coast of southern California in the United States, where it is a rare species. It is threatened in some localities by the development of its coastal habitat, which tends to be prime locations for high-end residential and commercial developments.
Hazardia squarrosa is a North American species of shrub in the family Asteraceae known by the common name sawtooth goldenbush. It is native to California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.
Hulsea vestita is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name pumice alpinegold.
Chorizanthe parryi is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Parry's spineflower and San Bernardino spineflower.
Eriodictyon parryi or poodle-dog bush is a tall California mountain shrub with showy purple flowers, which is notable for secreting a severe skin irritant. It is an opportunistic species that grows mostly in areas that have been disturbed by fire. In a dry early spring in Southern California, its semi-dormant leaves can droop and curl into coils like locks of curly hair, hence the popular name based on the metaphor of a poodle's natural hair.
Lonicera subspicata is a species of honeysuckle known by the common name southern honeysuckle. It is native to Baja California, California, and northern Baja California Sur, where it is known from several areas in mountain and coastal habitat, particularly chaparral. It is a vining shrub which usually climbs on other plants for support.
Eriodictyon lobbii is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names Lobb's fiddleleaf and matted yerba santa. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range chain in California and adjacent sections of Nevada and Oregon. It grows in high mountain habitat in dry areas on slopes and ridges.
Ribes indecorum is a species of currant known by the common names white-flowered currant and white chaparral currant. It is native to the southern California Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges, from around Santa Barbara County in California south into northern Baja California.
Tetradymia comosa is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, known by the common name hairy horsebrush.
Eriodictyon sessilifolium, known by the common names Baja California yerba santa, sessile-leaved yerba santa or sessileleaf yerba santa is a perennial shrub in the Boraginaceae family, near-endemic to Baja California but also rarely found in the southern California, in a locality near Poway.
