Zizia aurea | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Apiales |
Family: | Apiaceae |
Genus: | Zizia |
Species: | Z. aurea |
Binomial name | |
Zizia aurea | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Zizia aurea (golden alexanders, golden zizia) is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the carrot family Apiaceae. It is native to eastern Canada and the United States, from the eastern Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast. The genus is named for Johann Baptist Ziz, a German botanist. [3] The common name is based on the similarity to alexanders ( Smyrnium olusatrum ), another member of the carrot family from coastal areas in Europe and Northern Africa.
Zizia aurea grows to 40 to 75 centimetres (16 to 30 in) tall but can sometimes grow taller. The leaves are 8 cm (3+1⁄4 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) wide. They are attached to the stems alternately. Each leaf is compound and odd-pinnate, with leaflets that are normally lanceolate or ovate with serrated edges. The root system consists of a dense cluster of coarse fibrous roots. [4]
It blooms from May to June. Its flowers are yellow and grow in a flat-topped umbel at the top of the plant. Each flower is only 3 mm (0.12 in) long and has five sepals, five petals, and five stamens. Each flower produces a single 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in) long, oblong fruit (schizocarp) containing two seeds. In the fall both the leaves and the fruit turn purple. [4]
Golden alexander is native to the United States and Canada. It grows from New Brunswick to Saskatchewan, south to Florida and Texas, and west to Montana. [5] It is found in a broad variety of habitats, such as moist black soil prairies, openings in moist to mesic woodlands, savannas, thickets, limestone glades and bluffs, power line clearings in woodland areas, abandoned fields, and wet meadows. [4] [6] It can tolerate dry summers even though it prefers wet habitats. [4] It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9.
It is a host plant for the caterpillars of the black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes asterius) and Ozark swallowtail (Papilio joanae) butterflies. [4] Females of the mining bee species Andrena ziziae are oligolectic on Zizia aurea—they eat only its pollen. [6] Dozens of species of bees, flies, wasps, butterflies, and other insects visit the flowers of Zizia aurea for its nectar. [6]
Native Americans in the United States and Canada put the plant to a variety of medicinal uses: the leaves and flowers were used to prepare a tea believed to be beneficial in the treatment of disorders of the female reproductive system, while the root, believed to possess hemostatic and hypnotic properties, was also crushed and used to treat sharp pains, used to prepare poultices for the treatment of inflammations and sores and infused to brew a tea considered to have febrifugal virtues. [7]
The raw flowers (trimmed of any tougher stems) are sometimes added to green salads, while the young inflorescences are eaten whole after blanching in the same way as that used to cook broccoli. [7]
Care should be taken to wash thoroughly skin exposed to the sap of broken plant tissues, as subsequent exposure to the UV in sunlight may cause burns and blistering - as in the case of several species of the related Apiaceous genus Heracleum - notably H. mantegazzianum, the giant hogweed. [7] [8] The principal compound present in Z. aurea responsible for the phototoxicity of this species is the furanocoumarin xanthotoxin, a.k.a. methoxsalen, [7] which has also been isolated from a number of other species belonging to the family Apiaceae - notably Ammi majus . [9] [10]
Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus Apium, and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera, including such well-known, and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose exact identity is unclear and may be extinct.
Heracleum maximum, commonly known as cow parsnip, is the only member of the genus Heracleum native to North America. It is also known as American cow-parsnip, Satan celery, Indian celery, Indian rhubarb, poison turnip or pushki.
Lindera benzoin is a shrub in the laurel family. It is native to eastern North America, ranging from Maine and New York to Ontario in the north, and to Kansas, Texas, and northern Florida in the center and south. Within its native range it is a relatively common plant where it grows in the understory in moist, rich woods, especially those with exposed limestone.
Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae),. It is also sometimes called mother-die, a name that is also applied to the common hawthorn. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. It is related to other diverse members of Apiaceae, such as parsley, carrot, hemlock and hogweed. It is often confused with Daucus carota, another member of the Apiaceae also known as "Queen Anne's lace" or "wild carrot".
Holodiscus discolor, commonly known as ocean spray or oceanspray, creambush, or ironwood, is a shrub of western North America.
Aristolochia californica, the California pipevine, California Dutchman's-pipe, or California snakeroot is a perennial woody vine of western North America.
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.
Ammi is a genus of about six species of summer-flowering plants in the carrot family Apiaceae. They are native to southern Europe, northern Africa and south-western Asia. They have fern-like leaves and white or cream coloured lace-like flowers borne in branched, rounded umbels.
Ammi majus, commonly called bishop's flower, false bishop's weed, laceflower, bullwort, etc., is a member of the carrot family Apiaceae. The plant, which has white lace-like flower clusters, has a large distribution through Southern Europe, North Africa and West and Central Asia, though it is hypothesized to be native to the Nile River Valley.
Perideridia is a genus of plants in the family Apiaceae. Plants in this genus are known generally as yampah or yampa. They are native to western North America. Similar in appearance to other plants of the family Apiaceae, they have umbels of white flowers.
Sium suave, the water parsnip or hemlock waterparsnip, is a perennial wildflower in the family Apiaceae. It is native to many areas of both Asia and North America. The common name water parsnip is due to its similarity to parsnip and its wetland habitat. The alternate common name hemlock waterparsnip is due to its similarity to the highly poisonous spotted water hemlock.
Phytophotodermatitis, also known as berloque dermatitis, margarita photodermatitis, lime disease or lime phytodermatitis is a cutaneous phototoxic inflammatory reaction resulting from contact with a light-sensitizing botanical agent followed by exposure to ultraviolet A (UV-A) light. Symptoms include erythema, edema, blisters, and delayed hyperpigmentation. Heat and moisture tend to exacerbate the reaction.
Zizia is a genus of flowering plants in the parsley family, Apiaceae. It was named after Johann Baptist Ziz (1779–1829), a German botanist from the Rhineland. It is native to North America.
Zizia aptera is a flowering plant native to North America. Its common names include meadow zizia, golden alexanders, heart leaved golden alexanders, and prairie golden alexanders.
Visnaga daucoides is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by many common names, including toothpick-plant, toothpickweed, bisnaga, khella, or sometimes bishop's weed. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it can be found throughout the world as an introduced species.
Angelica atropurpurea, known commonly as purplestem angelica, great angelica, American angelica, high angelica, and masterwort, is a species of flowering plant that can be found in moist and swampy woodlands, mostly by riverbanks, in eastern North America.
Lomatium parryi, commonly known as Parry's biscuitroot and Utah desertparsley, is a perennial herb in the carrot family. It is a common herb in high altitude areas of deserts and common in desert national parks, such as the mountains surrounding Death Valley, in the western part of the United States.
Papilio joanae, the Ozark swallowtail, is a North American butterfly species in the family Papilionidae. It was once considered a synonym of the black swallowtail.
Osmorhiza longistylis, commonly called long-styled sweet-cicely or longstyle sweetroot, is an herbaceous plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to North America, where it is found from the Rocky Mountains east to the Atlantic Coast, in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitat is in forests with fertile soil, often in areas of loam and dappled sunlight. It can be found in areas of high or average quality natural communities, and does not tolerate intense disturbance.
Thaspium trifoliatum, commonly called meadow-parsnip or purple meadow-parsnip is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). It is native to eastern North America where it is found in many eastern U.S states and in Ontario, Canada. It has a broad natural habitat, which includes mesic to dry forests and woodlands, prairies, bluffs, and rock outcrops.