Grindelia squarrosa
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Curlycup_Gumweed.jpg
|image_caption =
|status = {{TNCStatus}}
|status_system = TNC
|genus = Grindelia
|species = squarrosa
|synonyms_ref = {{ThePlantList |authority=(Pursh) Dunal}}
|synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=Synonymy
|Donia squarrosa Pursh 1813
|Aurelia amplexicaulis Cass.
|Aurelia squarrosa Cass. ex Steud.
|Grindelia aphanactis Rydb.
|Grindelia arguta A.Gray
|Grindelia nuda Alph.Wood
|Grindelia pinnatifida Wooton & Standl.
|Grindelia serrulata Rydb.
|}}
}}
Grindelia squarrosa, also known as a curly-top gumweed or curlycup gumweed, is a small North American biennial or short-lived perennial plant.{{ITIS |id=37472 |taxon=Grindelia squarrosa}}
Description
G. squarrosa is a decumbent to erect, much-branched perennial herb or subshrub growing up to {{convert|100|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} tall. The leaves are {{Convert|1.5–7.5|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long,{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/376/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=376–377 |orig-date=1979}} gray-green, crenate with each tooth having a yellow bump near its tip, and resinous.[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=7515 Jepson Manual, University of California (TJM2)]
The plant produces numerous flower heads in open, branching arrays. The flower bract (involucre) is resinous and consists of multiple overlapping rows of phyllaries with tips that are strongly curled outward, sometimes curling back to form a circle. Each head usually contains 12–40 yellow ray flowers, though sometimes the rays are absent. These surround many small disc flowers. The plant blooms from July through late September.[http://kswildflower.org/flower_details.php?flowerID=159 Kansas Wildflowers & Grasses]{{eFloras|1 |tribe=Astereae |first1=John L. |last1=Strother |first2=Mark A. |last2=Wetter}} The brown seed is usually four-angled, with loose scales.
=Varieties=
- Grindelia squarrosa var. quasiperennis{{PLANTS |symbol=GRSQQ |taxon=Grindelia squarrosa var. quasiperennis}}
- Grindelia squarrosa var. serrulata{{PLANTS |symbol=GRSQS |taxon=Grindelia squarrosa var. serrulata}}
- Grindelia squarrosa var. squarrosa{{PLANTS |symbol=GRSQS2 |taxon=Grindelia squarrosa var. squarrosa}}
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to western and central North America, from British Columbia east to Québec and New England, and south as far as California, New Mexico, Arizona, Chihuahua, and Texas. The species may possibly be naturalized in much of the eastern part of that distribution.{{PLANTS|symbol=grsq|taxon=Grindelia squarrosa}}{{BONAP|ref|genus=Grindelia|species=squarrosa}}{{NPIN}}
It is often found in dry, open areas and disturbed roadsides and streamsides, occurring between {{convert|700|m|ft|abbr=off}} and {{convert|2300|m|ft|abbr=off}} in elevation.
Ecology
The species is listed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network as of "Special Value to Native Bees."
Toxicity
The plant concentrates selenium from the soil, and can be toxic when ingested by cattle, humans, and other mammals.
Uses
The flowers and leaves are used by Great Plains Tribes as a medicinal herb to treat illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis or skin rashes.[http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Grindelia+squarrosa University of Michigan at Dearborn, Native American Ethnobotany Database: Grindelia squarrosa][http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/pwgofnd/curlyc.htm Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929060956/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/pwgofnd/curlyc.htm|date=2006-09-29}} The powdered flowers were also once smoked in cigarettes to ease asthmatic symptoms.{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |publisher=Knopf |year=1985 |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=382 |author-link1=William Niering |orig-year=1979}}
It is used as a traditional medicinal plant by Shoshone peoples in various regions. The Gosiute language name for the plant is mu’-ha-kûm.{{cite journal |last=Chamberlin |first=Ralph Vary |date=1911 |title=The Ethno-botany of the Gosiute Indians of Utah |url=http://www.swsbm.com/Ethnobotany/Ethnobotan_of_Gosiute.pdf |journal=Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association Vol II, Part 5 |access-date=2007-11-12 |author-link=Ralph Vary Chamberlin}}{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} The Lakota language name for the plant is pteíčhiyuȟa.
Hispanos of New Mexico boiled the buds to make a drink to treat kidney disorders. Extracts have been made to treat skin irritations, asthma, and rheumatism. The resin has been used to treat poison ivy rashes topically.{{Cite book |last=Fagan |first=Damian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1073035766 |title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert |publisher=FalconGuides |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2 |location=Guilford, CT |pages=110 |oclc=1073035766}}
The plant is being explored as a potential source of biofuel due to its high content of mono- and di-terpenes which can be converted to a fuel analogous to kerosene or jet fuel.{{Cite journal|last1=Neupane|first1=Bishnu P.|last2=Shintani|first2=David|last3=Lin|first3=Hongfei|last4=Coronella|first4=Charles J.|last5=Miller|first5=Glenn C.|date=2016-11-22|title=Grindelia squarrosa: A Potential Arid Lands Biofuel Plant|journal=ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering|language=EN|volume=5|issue=1|pages=995–1001|doi=10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b02315|issn=2168-0485}} The plant's adaptation to arid climates makes it an attractive option as its cultivation in desert areas would not compete with traditional food crops.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Grindelia squarrosa|Grindelia squarrosa}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Grindelia squarrosa|Grindelia squarrosa}}
- [http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=9985 Calflora Database: Grindelia squarrosa (Curlycup gumweed)]
- {{CalPhotos|Grindelia|squarrosa}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q312228}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Flora of Northeastern Mexico
Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Category:Flora of the Eastern United States
Category:Flora of the Western United States
Category:Flora of the Great Plains (North America)
Category:Flora of the Great Basin
Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Category:Plants described in 1813
Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine