Gutierrezia microcephala

Last updated

Gutierrezia microcephala
Gutierrezia microcephala 1.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Gutierrezia
Species:
G. microcephala
Binomial name
Gutierrezia microcephala
Synonyms [1]
Synonymy
  • Brachyris microcephalaDC.
  • Gutierrezia euthamiae var. microcephala(DC.) A.Gray
  • Gutierrezia glomerellaGreene
  • Gutierrezia lucida(Greene) Greene
  • Gutierrezia microphyllaE. Durand & Hilg.
  • Gutierrezia sarothrae var. microcephala(DC.) L.D.Benson
  • Xanthocephalum lucidumGreene
  • Xanthocephalum microcephalum(DC.) Shinners

Gutierrezia microcephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names sticky snakeweed, threadleaf snakeweed, threadleaf broomweed, and smallhead snakeweed. It is a subshrub native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and can be found in arid grassland and desert sand dune habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due to the presence of saponins and high concentrations of selenium.

Contents

Botanical description

Gutierrezia microcephala is a small, resinous, perennial desert subshrub that is typically 20 to 60 centimetres (7.9 to 23.6 in) in height and less than 100 centimetres (39 in) in diameter. [2] [3] It is heavily branched, often causing it to be nearly spherical. [3] New shoots and twigs are green to yellow in color, and older parts are brown and woody. [3] The leaves are linear, threadlike, and alternate; 1 to 4 centimetres (0.39 to 1.57 in) long and 0.5 to 2 millimetres (0.020 to 0.079 in) wide. [3] [4] [5] Along with the leaves, the stem tissue is photosynthetic, giving the plant a high photosynthetic capacity. [2] G. microcephala typically flowers July to October, [3] but this can vary depending on the amount of precipitation. [2]

A close up of Gutierrezia microcephala flower heads Gutierrezia microcephala 4.jpg
A close up of Gutierrezia microcephala flower heads

When flowering, the tips of stem branches are occupied by sessile inflorescences of 5 or 6 flowers. The knobby, waxy yellow flower buds open into golden yellow flower heads, each of which has one or two disc florets between 2.2 to 3.3 millimetres (0.087 to 0.130 in) in diameter, and one or two ray florets between 2.1 to 3.5 millimetres (0.083 to 0.138 in) in diameter. [3] The mature plants produce many achene, although most seeds fall within a few metres of the parent plant. [2] This is because the plant grows a very small pappus, which makes wind-borne seed distribution very inefficient. [2]

Habitat

Gutierrezia microcephala, a native North American plant, is found throughout the southwestern United States (from California east as far as Texas and Colorado) and northern Mexico (from Baja California to Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Zacatecas). [1] [6] [7] It occurs in a variety of ecoregions, such as arid grasslands, chaparral, sand dunes, and oak or oak-pine woodlands. [3] [4] [6] G. microcephala is primarily found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils, and is often found in intermittently dry creeks or on the adjacent slopes. [2] It often predominates on shallow, rocky soil, where grasses are not well established. [2]

Uses

Gutierrezia microcephala was used by the Native Americans for various reasons. [8] The Cahuilla used an infusion of the plant as a gargle or placed the plant in their mouths as a toothache remedy. The Hopi and Tewa both used the plant as a carminative, as prayer stick decorations, and for roasting sweet corn, and the Navajo applied a poultice of the plant to the back and legs of horses for unknown reasons. [9] The Zuni steeped the flower heads in boiling water and used the tea as a diuretic, tonic, and sweat-inducer, and also used the plant as an indicator of water. [10]

Gutierrezia microcephala is of little known use to wildlife, and is generally uneaten by livestock except when other forage is unavailable. [10] [11]

Toxicity

Gutierrezia microcephala can be toxic to livestock, especially when grown in sandy soil. [11] Toxicity is due to the presence of saponins, alkaloids, terpenes, and flavonols, [12] as well as high concentrations of selenium; [13] G. microcephala plants have been found to contain selenium levels of 1287 ppm. [14] Toxicity symptoms include abortion and death; [11] [15] as little as 9 kilograms (20 lb) of fresh G. microcephala consumed by cattle in seven days can cause abortions, and in cattle, sheep, and goats consuming ten to twenty percent of their body weight in two weeks can cause death. [16]

Management

Gutierrezia microcephala is one of the most widespread and damaging rangeland weeds, [17] and is an indicator of overgrazed or disturbed rangelands. [11] The herbicides picloram and triclopyr have been found to give satisfactory control, with control lasting at least 5 to 7 years with proper grazing management. [11] Biological control has also been studied, with a combination of an Argentinean root-boring weevil, Heilipodus ventralis, and an Argentinean moth root-borer, Carmenta haematica , found to be an effective method of control. [17]

Fire kills or severely damages G. microcephala, allowing controlled burns to be used in the management of its populations. [18] Burns must be done carefully, as G. microcephala may recolonize burned sites if moisture conditions and competition is favorable, giving mixed success for prescribed burns. [18] Burns can be limited by insufficient amounts fine fuel; if there is enough fine fuel, burns are generally effective if fuel moisture and relative humidity are low, the air temperature is between 24–32 °C (75–90 °F), and there is a gentle breeze. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soursop</span> Species of plant

Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is widely propagated. It is in the same genus, Annona, as cherimoya and is in the Annonaceae family.

<i>Bromus tectorum</i> Species of grass

Bromus tectorum, known as downy brome, drooping brome or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southern Russia, Japan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, North America and western Central Asia. In the eastern US B. tectorum is common along roadsides and as a crop weed, but usually does not dominate an ecosystem. It has become a dominant species in the Intermountain West and parts of Canada, and displays especially invasive behavior in the sagebrush steppe ecosystems where it has been listed as noxious weed. B. tectorum often enters the site in an area that has been disturbed, and then quickly expands into the surrounding area through its rapid growth and prolific seed production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pawnee National Grassland</span> Area of protected federal lands in northeastern Colorado

Pawnee National Grassland is a United States National Grassland located in northeastern Colorado on the Colorado Eastern Plains. The grassland is located in the South Platte River basin in remote northern and extreme northeastern Weld County between Greeley and Sterling. It comprises two parcels totaling 193,060 acres (78,130 ha) largely between State Highway 14 and the Wyoming border. The larger eastern parcel lies adjacent to the borders of both Nebraska and Wyoming. It is administered in conjunction with the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest from the U.S. Forest Service office in Fort Collins, with a local ranger district office in Greeley.

<i>Toxicodendron vernix</i> Species of plant

Toxicodendron vernix, commonly known as poison sumac, or swamp-sumach, is a woody shrub or small tree growing to 9 metres (30 feet) tall. It was previously known as Rhus vernix. This plant is also known as thunderwood, particularly where it occurs in the southern United States. All parts of the plant contain a resin called urushiol that causes skin and mucous membrane irritation to humans. Urushiol is the same chemical that poison ivy is covered in. When the plant is burned, inhalation of the smoke may cause the rash to appear on the lining of the lungs, causing extreme pain and possibly fatal respiratory difficulty.

<i>Centaurea solstitialis</i> Species of flowering plant

Centaurea solstitialis, the yellow star-thistle, is a species of thorny plant in the genus Centaurea, which is part of the family Asteraceae. A winter annual, it is native to the Mediterranean Basin region and invasive in many other places. It is also known as golden starthistle, yellow cockspur and St. Barnaby's thistle.

<i>Gutierrezia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Gutierrezia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to western North America and western South America. Plants of this genus are known generally as snakeweeds or matchweeds. Some species have been called greasewood. They are annual or perennial plants or subshrubs with yellow or white flowers.

<i>Senecio flaccidus</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Senecio flaccidus, formerly recorded as Senecio douglasii, member of the daisy family and genus Senecio also known as threadleaf ragwort, is a native of the southwestern Great Plains of North America.

<i>Gutierrezia sarothrae</i> Species of flowering plant

Gutierrezia sarothrae is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names broom snakeweed, broomweed, snakeweed, and matchweed. It is a subshrub native to much of the western half of North America, from western Canada to northern Mexico, and can be found in a number of arid, grassland, and mountain habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due mainly to the presence of saponins.

<i>Juncus acutus</i> Species of grass

Juncus acutus, the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae. It is native to the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia, and is found in a variety of wet habitats, such as bogs, fens, meadows, and salt marshes, and along the edges of ponds and lakes.

Thurovia is a genus of Texan plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Astragalus holmgreniorum</i> Species of endangered plant

Astragalus holmgreniorum is a rare species of milkvetch known by the common names Holmgren milk-vetch and paradox milk-vetch. It is native to a tiny section of desert shrub woodland on the border between Utah and Arizona, in the far northern Mojave Desert. There are six populations remaining. It is a federally listed endangered species.

<i>Pediocactus bradyi</i> Species of endangered cactus

Pediocactus bradyi is a very rare species of cactus known by the common names Brady's pincushion cactus, Brady's hedgehog cactus, and Marble Canyon cactus. It is endemic to Arizona in the US, where it is restricted to Marble Canyon in Coconino County, though its exact distribution is not generally advertised due to poaching concerns. It is limited to a specific type of soil, it has a small distribution, and the species is threatened by a number of human activities. This has been a federally listed endangered species of the United States since 1979.

<i>Sclerocactus glaucus</i> Species of cactus

Sclerocactus glaucus is a rare species of cactus known by the common name Colorado hookless cactus. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from the area between Grand Junction and Montrose. It is a federally listed threatened species.

<i>Townsendia aprica</i> Species of flowering plant

Townsendia aprica is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Last Chance Townsend daisy. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known from three counties. It faces a number of threats and it is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

<i>Artemisia filifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia filifolia, known by common names including sand sagebrush, sand sage and sandhill sage, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family. It is native to North America, where it occurs from Nevada east to South Dakota and from there south to Arizona, Chihuahua, and Texas.

Eriogonum visheri is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Dakota wild buckwheat and Visher's buckwheat. It is native to the Great Plains in the United States, where it is known from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greasewood</span> Index of plants with the same common name

Greasewood is a common name shared by several plants:

<i>Adenophora triphylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Adenophora triphylla, also known as Japanese lady bell, is one of the 62 species of Adenophora. It is a flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae that is distributed mainly over the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and China.

Gutierrezia petradoria is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names San Pedro snakeweed and goldenrod snakeweed

Asteromyia gutierreziae is a species of gall midges in the family Cecidomyiidae.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gutierrezia microcephala (DC.) A. Gray". Plants Profile. United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Botanical and Ecological Characteristics". Species: Gutierrezia microcephala. United States Forest Service. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "G. microcephala (DC.) A. Gray". Treatment from the Jepson Manual. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Gutierrezia microcephala (de Candolle) A. Gray". Flora of North America. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Gutierrezia microcephala (DC.) Gray". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Distribution and Occurrence". Species: Gutierrezia microcephala. United States Forest Service. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  7. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  8. ↑ "Gutierrezia microcephala". Native American Ethnobotany. University of Michigan. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  9. ↑ Hocking, George M. (1956). "Some Plant Materials Used Medicinally and Otherwise by the Navaho Indians in the Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" (PDF). El Palacio. 63: 151. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Dayton, William A. (1931). Important Western Browse Plants. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture. p. 164. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Management Considerations". Species: Gutierrezia microcephala. United States Forest Service. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  12. ↑ Smith, G. Stanley; Ross, Timothy T.; Flores-Rodriguez, Gonzalo I.; Oetting, Bryan C.; Edrington, Thomas S. (1991). "Toxicology of Snakeweeds, Gutierrezia microcephala and G. sarothrae". In Lynn F. James; John O. Evans; Michael H. Ralphs; R. Dennis Child (eds.). Noxious Range Weeds. Westview Press. p. 236. ISBN   0-8133-8395-1.
  13. ↑ "Gutierrezia microcephala". Database of Toxic Plants in the United States. Equines & Toxic Plants. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  14. ↑ Beath, O. A. (November 1943). "Toxic Vegetation Growing on the Salt Wash Sandstone Member of the Morrison Formation". American Journal of Botany. 30 (9): 701. doi:10.2307/2437716. JSTOR   2437716.
  15. ↑ "Poisonous Plant Groups" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. 1972. p. 2. Retrieved December 30, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  16. ↑ "Perennial Broomweed, Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia microcephala and G. sarothrae)" (PDF). Integrated Toxic Plant Management Handbook. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  17. 1 2 DeLoach, C. Jack; Cuda, James P. (1999). "Host Specificity of the Argentine Root-Boring Weevil, Heilipodus ventralis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a Potential Biocontrol Agent for Snakeweeds (Gutierrezia: Asteraceae) in Western North American Rangelands—U.S. Quarantine Tests". Biological Control. 15 (3): 185–209. doi:10.1006/bcon.1998.0684 . Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  18. 1 2 3 "Fire Effects". Species: Gutierrezia microcephala. United States Forest Service. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.