Menodora scabra
{{Short description|Shrub species in the olive family}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Rough menodora
| image = Menodora scabra EP-IV2-008.png
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Illustration circa 1895E. Knoblauch: Oleaceae, Salvadoraceae. In Engler, Prantl (eds.): Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien [...] IV. Teil. 2. Abteilung Leipzig, W. Engelmann
| status = {{TNCStatus}}
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = {{Cite NatureServe |date=4 April 2025 |id=2.144662 |title=Menodora scabra |access-date=1 May 2025}}
| genus = Menodora
| species = scabra
| authority = Engelm. ex A.Gray
| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=610449-1 |title=Menodora scabra Engelm. ex A.Gray |access-date=1 May 2025}}
| synonyms = {{Species list
| Menodora decemfida var. longifolia | Steyerm.
| Menodora laevis | Wooton & Standl.
| Menodora scoparia | Engelm. ex A.Gray
}}
}}
Menodora scabra (formerly Menodora scoparia)Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed., p. 237 is broom-like shrub in the Olive Family (Oleaceae), known by the common name rough menodora or broom twinberry.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Mackay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 237 It is a popular desert garden plant.
Range and habit
It is native to the southwestern United States (Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and California) and northern Mexico (Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Sonora), where it grows in varied mountain, plateau, and desert habitat.[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Menodora%20scabra.png Biota of North America Program, Menodora scabra][https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28136499#page/53/mode/1up Gray, Asa. 1852. American Journal of Science, and Arts, ser. 2, 14(40): 44, Menodora scabra]CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City.
Growth pattern
Menodora scabra is a small, multibranched subshrub producing several upright stems no more than 30 centimeters tall. It is coated in rough hairs and short, woolly fibers.
Leaves and stem
The leaves are oblong or oval, smooth along the edges, and opposite on the lower parts of the stems, becoming alternate above.{{cite web |title=Menodora scabra |url=https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=683 |website=SEINet |access-date=17 July 2022}} They are 1-3 cm long and 1-6 mm wide, the larger leaves located lower on the plant.
Flowers and fruit
The inflorescence is a loose cluster of yellow flowers at the tip of a stem branch. The flower corolla has 4 to 6 lobes with the stamens and stigma protruding from the short throat. The fruit is a capsule.[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5249,5257,5258%20 Jepson Manual Treatment][http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MESC USDA Plants Profile]Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford.
Ethnobotanical uses
Native American Navajo people developed cold infusion of this plant to treat heartburn and facilitate labor for childbirth. A root decoction was used to treat spinal pain.{{Cite book|title=Wildflowers of the Northern and Central Mountains of New Mexico: Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia, and Manzano|last=Littlefield|first=Larry J.|last2=Burns|first2=Pearl M.|publisher=University of new Mexico Press|year=2015|isbn=9780826355478|location=Albuquerque|pages=202}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Menodora+scabra Calphotos Photo gallery]
- [http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MESC Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center]
- [http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1547/menodora-scabra-rough-menodora/ Firefly Forest, Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and Plants of the Sonoran Desert]
- [http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/menodora_scabra.html Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness, Western New Mexico University]
- [http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=683 Southwest Biodiversity Information Network]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3306024}}
Category:Plants described in 1852