''Machaeranthera tanacetifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Asteraceae
Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...
known by the common names tansyleaf tansyaster and Tahoka daisy.
Description
''M. tanacetifolia'' is an annual or biennial herb growing one or more branching stems up to about in height.
The multilobed
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are up to long.
Between May and September,
an
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
bears one or more
flower heads
A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...
lined with spreading or curling, pointed
phyllaries
In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one o ...
. The head has a center of many yellow disc florets and a fringe of many lavender to purple ray florets each long. The fruit is a flat
achene
An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...
about 1 cm long including the
pappus.
It is similar to ''M. parviflora'', the flower heads of which are smaller.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, the southwestern and central United States, and northern Mexico. It grows in several types of habitat, including sandy open plains and deserts.
Uses
The
Zuni people
The Zuni (; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni people today are federally recognized as the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, and most live in the Pueblo o ...
use an
infusion
Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An inf ...
of the flowers taken with other flowers for unspecified illnesses.
[Camazine, Scott and Robert A. Bye 1980 A Study Of The Medical Ethnobotany Of The Zuni Indians of New Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2:365-388 (p. 375)]
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileKansas WildflowersPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3274249
Flora of Mexico
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
Astereae