Trichostema lanatum

Trichostema lanatum is many-branched and grows to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall, with narrow, pointed green leaves. The smooth-petaled blue flowers are borne in dense clusters, with the stem and calyces covered in woolly hairs of blue, pink, or white. Flowers are present from March to June.{{Cite web|url=http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Trichostema+lanatum|title=Calflora: Trichostema lanatum|website=www.calflora.org|language=en|access-date=2017-06-16}}

Spanish explorers in California called the plant romero, the Spanish term for rosemary, and that common name is still sometimes used in Mexico.Rogers, D. (2001). [http://www.ventanawild.org/news/ss01/romero.html Romero or Woolly Blue Curls.] Double Cone Quarterly.

Trichostema lanatum is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and several cultivars have been developed. It attracts hummingbirds and bumblebees.[http://www.smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/plant_of_the_month_200607_Woolly_Blue_Curls.htm Santa Monica Mountains Plant of the Month] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130042307/http://smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/plant_of_the_month_200607_Woolly_Blue_Curls.htm |date=2010-11-30 }}

Native Americans used it for a variety of medicinal and other purposes.[http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/3994/ Ethnobotany]

Its leaves and flowers make a flavorful tea.

Trichostema lanatum was incorporated by the Chumash to help facilitate the healing process of menstruation and birth, as well as a general disinfectant and treatment for rheumatism.{{Cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=James D. |last2=Garcia |first2=Cecilia |date=March 2006 |title=Women's Health Among the Chumash |journal=Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=125–131 |doi=10.1093/ecam/nek021 |issn=1741-427X |pmc=1375244 |pmid=16550233}} When tested against an E.Coli ▵tolC mutant, the plant exhibited anti-bacterial properties.{{Cite journal |last1=Allison |first1=Brittany J. |last2=Allenby |first2=Mark C. |last3=Bryant |first3=Shane S. |last4=Min |first4=Jae Eun |last5=Hieromnimon |first5=Mark |last6=Joyner |first6=P. Matthew |date=2017-03-19 |title=Antibacterial activity of fractions from three Chumash medicinal plant extracts and in vitro inhibition of the enzyme enoyl reductase by the flavonoid jaceosidin |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14786419.2016.1217201 |journal=Natural Product Research |language=en |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=707–712 |doi=10.1080/14786419.2016.1217201 |pmid=27482826 |s2cid=45752002 |issn=1478-6419|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Fleming |first=Matthew |date=2014-03-21 |title=Extracts of Trichostema lanatum inhibit the growth of gram-positive bacteria and an Escherichia coli ΔtolC mutant strain |url=https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/scursas/2014/oral/37 |journal=Seaver College Research and Scholarly Achievement Symposium}} Studies have also shown anti-inflammatory properties against pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-ɑ and anti-bacterial properties against macrophages and gram-postivie bacteria.{{Cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=Matthew C. |last2=Hester |first2=Victoria |last3=Allison |first3=Brittany J. |last4=Foster |first4=Majie C. |last5=Nofziger |first5=Donna |last6=Joyner |first6=P. Matthew |date=2018-03-21 |title=Immunomodulatory and Antibacterial Properties of the Chumash Medicinal Plant Trichostema lanatum |journal=Medicines |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=25 |doi=10.3390/medicines5020025 |doi-access=free |issn=2305-6320 |pmc=6023444 |pmid=29561753}}

This species and Trichostema lanceolatum, a related species, were both also used by other California Indigenous tribes in the form of tea or crushed leaves to treat a range of ailments including common olds, body aches, skin disorders, digestive problems, and malaria.{{Cite web |title=USDA Plants Database |url=https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=TRLA4 |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=plants.usda.gov}} The two species differ in smell, anatomy, and location found.{{Cite web |title=Plant of the Month Page |url=https://www.smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/Vinegar_Weed.php |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=bluecurls (Genus Trichostema) |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54876-Trichostema |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=iNaturalist |language=en}} Indigenous tribes used T. lanatum to treat the same ailments as T. lanceolatum. Woolly bluecurls and other native plants have historically been used by Indigenous peoples in a holistic approach to medical care, which typically considers patient health and well-being at the intersection of biology, psychology, and culture, and manipulating the biochemical properties of native plants to treat the ailment.{{Cite journal |last1=Koithan |first1=Mary |last2=Farrell |first2=Cynthia |date=2010-06-01 |title=Indigenous Native American Healing Traditions |journal=The Journal for Nurse Practitioners |volume=6 |issue=6 |pages=477–478 |doi=10.1016/j.nurpra.2010.03.016 |issn=1555-4155 |pmc=2913884 |pmid=20689671}}

Future studies of woolly bluecurls and other plants used by Indigenous peoples for medicinal purposes will need to focus on the use of such plants in a broader cultural system of care. Such work can be challenging, given the historical, systematic erasure of Indigenous wisdom that has been a primary function of settler colonialism.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons|Trichostema lanatum}}

• [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4745,4917,4921 Jepson Manual Treatment — Trichostema lanatum]
• [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Trichostema+lanatum Trichostema lanatum — U.C. Photo gallery]

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lanatum

Category:Flora of California

Category:Flora of Baja California

Category:Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands

Category:Natural history of the California Coast Ranges

Category:Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges

Category:Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains

Category:Natural history of the Transverse Ranges

Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine

Category:Bird food plants

Category:Garden plants of North America

Category:Drought-tolerant plants

Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status