''Iva annua'', the annual marsh elder or sumpweed, is a North American
herbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition o ...
annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...
in the family
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...
that was historically cultivated by
Native Americans for its
edible seed
An edible seed is a seed that is suitable for human or animal consumption. Of the six major plant parts, seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein. A wide variety of plant species provide edible seeds; most are Flowering plant, a ...
.
Description
''Iva annua'' is an annual herb up to 150 cm (5 feet) tall. The plant produces many small flower heads in a narrow, elongated, spike-like array, each head with 11–17 disc florets but no ray florets.
Distribution
It is native to northeastern Mexico (
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
) and to the central and southern United States, primarily the
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...
and
Mississippi Valley
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...
as far north as
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...
. There are some populations in the eastern US, but these appear to represent introductions.
Uses
''Iva annua'' was cultivated for its edible seed by Native Americans around 4,000 years ago in the central and eastern United States as part of the
Eastern Agricultural Complex
The Eastern Agricultural Complex in the woodlands of eastern North America was one of about 10 independent centers of plant domestication in the pre-historic world. Incipient agriculture dates back to about 5300 BCE. By about 1800 BCE the Native ...
. It was especially important to the indigenous peoples of the
Kansas City Hopewell
The Kansas City Hopewell were the farthest west regional variation of the Hopewell tradition of the Middle Woodland period (100 BCE – 700 CE). Sites were located in Kansas and Missouri around the mouth of the Kansas River where it enters the Mi ...
culture in present-day
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
. The edible parts contain 32 percent protein and 45 percent oil.
However, like its relative
ragweed, sumpweed possesses many objectionable qualities which include being a severe potential
allergen
An allergen is a type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off a perceived threat that would otherwise be harmless to the body. Such reactions are called allergies.
In technical t ...
and possessing a disagreeable odor. Probably for these reasons it was abandoned after more pleasant alternatives (such as
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...
) were available and, by the time Europeans arrived in the Americas, had long disappeared as a crop.
See also
*
New World crops
References
External links
*
*
Plants Profile for ''Iva annua'' (annual marsh elder) Germplasm Resources Information Network−GRIN: treatment of ''Iva annua''* Includes photographs.
Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6095678
annua
Pseudocereals
Flora of the Great Plains (North America)
Flora of the United States
Flora of the South-Central United States
Flora of the Southeastern United States
Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America)
Flora of the Appalachian Mountains
Flora of Tamaulipas
Flora of Veracruz
Edible nuts and seeds
Crops originating from Pre-Columbian North America
Native American cuisine of the Southeastern Woodlands
Pre-Columbian Great Plains cuisine
Crops originating from the United States
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Flora without expected TNC conservation status