Wyethia angustifolia

First overview block: Scientific Name, Synonyms, Family, English Names, Other Names

Taxonomy

• Kingdom Plantae – Plants
• Subkingdom -Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
• Superdivision - Spermatophyta – Seed plants
• Division - Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
• Class
• Subclass
• Order
• Family
• Genus
• Species

Description

General: Tap-rooted, leafy-stemmed perennial, the stems stout but lax, 2-9 dm. tall, the herbage covered with short, stiff, blunt hairs. Leaves: Leaves mostly entire, the basal ones enlarged, with narrow, elongate blades, 1.5-5 dm. long and 2.5-10 cm. wide, tapering at both ends; cauline leaves smaller and variable. Flowers: Heads usually solitary; involucral bracts lance-linear, in several series, herbaceous, with conspicuous hairs on the margins; rays 13-21, chrome-yellow, pistillate and fertile, 1.5-3.5 cm. long; disk flowers light yellow, perfect and fertile; receptacle broadly convex, chaffy throughout, the bracts clasping the achenes; pappus of petal-like appendages. Fruit: Achenes compressed-quadrangular

Bloom Period

• Flowering time: April-July
• Crop intervals: perennial

Uses

• Raw stems used for food; seeds used for pinole (food) and dried for winter use; decoction of leaves used to reduces fever and induce perspiration; decoction of roots taken as an emetic; poultice of root lather used for lung problems and to draw blisters
• The seed can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickener in soups or can be added to cereal flours when making bread etc. Young leaves can be eaten raw. A lemon-yellow dye is obtained from the flowers. A gold to brass dye is obtained from the flowers, leaves and stems.

References

http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=WYAN
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php
http://herb.umd.umich.edu/
http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Wyethia+angustifolia