Xylorhiza tortifolia

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Xylorhiza tortifolia
Xylorhiza tortifolia flower 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: Xylorhiza
Species:
X. tortifolia
Binomial name
Xylorhiza tortifolia
Synonyms
  • Aster abatus S.F.Blake [1]
  • Aster mohavensis J.M.Coult. [2]
  • Aster orcuttii
  • Machaeranthera orcuttii

Xylorhiza tortifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, known by the common names Mojave-aster and Mojave woodyaster. [3]

Contents

Distribution

The flowering plant is native to the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Great Basin Desert ecoregions of the southwestern United States, California, and northwestern Mexico. [4]

It grows in arid canyons and bajadas/washes, from 240–2,000 metres (790–6,560 ft) in elevation. Habitats it is found in include creosote bush scrub, saltbush scrub, and Joshua tree woodlands. [3]

Description

Xylorhiza tortifolia is a perennial herb or subshrub with branching, hairy, glandular stems that reach 60–80 centimetres (24–31 in) in height/length. The leaves are linear, lance-shaped, or oval, with pointed or spiny tips and spiny edges. The leaf surfaces are hairy and glandular.

The inflorescence is a solitary flower head borne on a long peduncle. The head has a base with long, narrow phyllaries which may be over 2 centimeters long. The head contains up to 60 or more lavender, pale blue, or white ray florets which may be over 3 centimeters long. The bloom period is March through June. [3]

The fruit is an achene which may be over a centimeter long, including its pappus of bristles.

Varieties

Taxonomy

Desert species of this aster with a woody base (Xylorhiza means woody base) are classified under the genus Xylorhiza , and have been removed from the large and complex genus Machaeranthera , where they were placed for many decades. [9] A similar species, Xylorhiza wrightii−Big Bend aster, is native to the Chihuahuan Desert in western Texas and northern Mexico. [9]

Uses

The Havasupai used the plant for incense and fragrance, with ground leaves carried in the clothes and used as perfume by men and women to counteract body odors. [10]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Lomatium mohavense</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Palafoxia arida</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Psorothamnus arborescens</i> Species of legume

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<i>Tetradymia glabrata</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

  1. Blake 1925, p. 556, 562.
  2. Coulter 1893, p. 126.
  3. 1 2 3 Calflora: Xylorhiza tortifolia
  4. Flora of North America − Xylorhiza tortifolia
  5. USDA: Xylorhiza tortifolia var. imberbis
  6. USDA: Xylorhiza tortifolia var. parashantensis
  7. Calflora: Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia
  8. Jepson eFlora: Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia
  9. 1 2 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network−NPIN: Xylorhiza cognata (Mojave aster, Mojave woodyaster)
  10. Native American Ethnobotany Database: Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia

Bibliography