| Trichostema lanatum | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Trichostema |
| Species: | T. lanatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Trichostema lanatum | |
Trichostema lanatum, also known as woolly bluecurls, [2] is a small evergreen shrub or sub-shrub native to arid coastal chaparral regions of California down to the northern tip of Baja California, Mexico.
Trichostema lanatum is many-branched and grows to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall, with narrow, pointed green leaves. The smooth-petaled blue flowers are borne in dense clusters, with the stem and calyces covered in woolly hairs of blue, pink, or white. Flowers are present from March to June. [3]
Spanish explorers in California called the plant romero, the Spanish term for rosemary, and that common name is still sometimes used in Mexico. [4]
Trichostema lanatum is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and several cultivars have been developed. [4] It attracts hummingbirds and bumblebees. [5]
Native Americans used it for a variety of medicinal and other purposes. [6]
Its leaves and flowers make a flavorful tea. [4]
Trichostema lanatum was incorporated by the Chumash to help facilitate the healing process of menstruation and birth, as well as a general disinfectant and treatment for rheumatism. [7] When tested against an E.Coli ▵tolC mutant, the plant exhibited anti-bacterial properties. [8] [9] Studies have also shown anti-inflammatory properties against pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-ɑ and anti-bacterial properties against macrophages and gram-postivie bacteria. [10]
This species and Trichostema lanceolatum, a related species, were both also used by other California Indigenous tribes in the form of tea or crushed leaves to treat a range of ailments including common olds, body aches, skin disorders, digestive problems, and malaria. [11] The two species differ in smell, anatomy, and location found. [12] [13] Indigenous tribes used T. lanatum to treat the same ailments as T. lanceolatum. [11] Woolly bluecurls and other native plants have historically been used by Indigenous peoples in a holistic approach to medical care, which typically considers patient health and well-being at the intersection of biology, psychology, and culture, and manipulating the biochemical properties of native plants to treat the ailment. [14]
Future studies of woolly bluecurls and other plants used by Indigenous peoples for medicinal purposes will need to focus on the use of such plants in a broader cultural system of care. Such work can be challenging, given the historical, systematic erasure of Indigenous wisdom that has been a primary function of settler colonialism.
