''Palafoxia'', or palafox, is a genus of North American

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the Bahia tribe within the

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 ...

(sunflower family).

Description

The erect, slender

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

grows tall, branching in the lower half and is sparsely leaved. It is glandular and hairy on the upper parts.Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 388 ''Palafoxia'' Lagasca
/ref> The glabrous, glandular

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 lanceolate, wide and long, and are arranged alternately. A few

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

heads appear at the end of the upper branches. The reddish to pink ray florets have three narrow lobes. They are subtended by involucral

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. The seed-like

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is narrow with a pappus of several pointed scales (giving rise to the common name 'Spanish Needles' for ''P. arida''). These plants self-sow freely.

Taxonomy

The genus is named after José de Palafox y Melzi, Duke of Saragossa (1776–1847), a Spanish captain-general in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

against the invading armies of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. ;SpeciesFlann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
/ref>Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps
/ref> * '' Palafoxia arida'' B.L. Turner & Morris : Spanish needles, desert palafox -

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, CA AZ NV UT * '' Palafoxia callosa'' (Nutt.) Torr. & Gray : small palafox -

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

, TX LA MS AR MO OK * '' Palafoxia hookeriana'' Torr. & Gray : sand palafox - TX * '' Palafoxia integrifolia'' (Nutt.) Torr. & Gray : coastalplain palafox - FL GA * '' Palafoxia lindenii'' A.Gray -

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

* '' Palafoxia linearis'' (Cav.) Lag. -

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

, Chihuahua,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

( San Bernardino Co) * '' Palafoxia reverchonii'' (Bush) Cory : Reverchon's palafox - TX * '' Palafoxia riograndensis'' Cory : Rio Grande palafox -

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

( Big Bend area) * ''Palafoxia rosea'' (Bush) Cory : rosy palafox -

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

* '' Palafoxia sphacelata'' (Nutt. ex Torr.) Cory : showy palafox, sand palafox, rotting palafox - Chihuahua,

, TX NM OK KS NE CO * '' Palafoxia texana'' DC. :Texas palafox -

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, TX LA FL

Distribution and habitat

These are

drought-tolerant In botany, drought tolerance is the ability by which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tole ...

, annual

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s growing on sandy plains, dunes, deserts (

Mojave desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

Sonoran desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

) and rangeland, native to the United States and Mexico. ''P. callosa'' is

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in Hawaii.

Ecology

They are attractive to bees, butterflies and birds and are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including '' Schinia niveicosta'', which feeds exclusively on ''P. linearis''.

Uses

''Palafoxia rosea'' (Rosy palafox) has been used in

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

for the treatment of fever, nausea and chills.

References

* * Tucker J.M. and M.I. Morris. 1975. New taxa of ''Palafoxia'' (Asteraceae: Helenieae). Madroño 23:79–80. * Turner, B. L. and M. L. Morris. 1976. Systematics of ''Palafoxia'' (Asteraceae: Helenieae). Rhodora 78:567–628.

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Palafoxia''

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Palafoxia''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5221192 Asteraceae genera Flora of Mexico Flora of the United States Taxa named by Mariano Lagasca