Gnaphalium Sp. - Cudweed
Family: Asteraceae (Aster) [E-flora]
"Annual, tap- or fibrous-rooted. Stem: generally 1, erect, branched from base; ± woolly-tomentose, not glandular. Leaf: most cauline, alternate, oblanceolate to spoon-shaped [linear], entire, base ± wedge-shaped, faces gray-tomentose. Inflorescence: heads disciform, generally in head-like axillary groups, sometimes in spike-like clusters; involucre ± bell-shaped; phyllaries in 3–5 series, generally white to brown, opaque or not, often shiny; phyllary base generally glandular distally, ± equal to unequal, stiff-papery toward tips, inner phyllaries protruding distal to outer. Pistillate flower: 40–130; corolla ± white to ± purple. Disk flower: 4–7, corolla ± white to ± purple. Fruit: oblong, generally glabrous, sometimes minutely papillate; pappus bristles in 1 series, free, deciduous.
± 38 species: America, Asia, Africa, Australia. (Greek: downy plant, ancient name for these or similar plants) [Nesom 2006 FNANM 19:428–430] Other species in TJM (1993) moved to Euchiton, Gamochaeta, and Pseudognaphalium. [Jepson]
Local Species;
- Gnaphalium palustre- lowland cudweed [E-flora]
- Gnaphalium uliginosum - marsh cudweed [E-flora]
References
- [Jepson] 2013. Gnaphalium, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=449, accessed on Jan 20 2015
Gnaphalium palustre- lowland cudweed
"General: Annual herb from a fibrous root; stems much branched, with irregular tufts of woolly hairs, 3-15 (30) cm tall." [IFBC-E-flora]
"Habitat / Range Moist vernal meadows and alkaline flats in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in S BC, rare in WC BC (Bulkley River valley); E to AB and S to NM and CA." [IFBC-E-flora]
Status: Native [E-flora]
Synonyms:
- Filaginella palustris (Nutt.) Holub [E-flora]
References
- [E-flora]Gnaphalium palustre, http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Gnaphalium%20palustre&redblue=Both&lifeform=7, Accessed April 7, 2020
Gnaphalium uliginosum - marsh cudweed
"General: Annual or biennial herb from a fibrous root; stems usually much branched from near the base, glandular-hairy, 3-25 cm tall." [IFBC-E-flora]
"Habitat / Range Moist to mesic streambanks, lakeshores and waste places in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in S BC; introduced from Europe." [IFBC-E-flora]Status: Exotic [E-flora]
Other Uses
- Dye
- "Yellow and green dyes are obtained from the whole plant[168]." [PFAF]
Medicinal Uses
"Marsh cudweed is little used in modern herbalism, though it is occasionally taken for its astringent, antiseptic and anticatarrhal properties[254]." [PFAF]
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Whole Plant
- "The whole plant is anti-inflammatory, astringent, diaphoretic and diuretic[4, 21, 165, 238]. It may also have aphrodisiac and anti-depressant effects[238]. It is used both internally and externally in the treatment of laryngitis, upper respiratory catarrh and tonsillitis, whilst in Russia it is used in the treatment of high blood pressure[238, 254]. The plant is harvested when it is in flower and is dried for later use[238]." [PFAF]
Synonyms
- Filaginella uliginosa (L.) Opiz [E-flora]
- Gnaphalium grayi A. Nelson & J.F. Macbr.[E-flora]
References
- [E-flora] Gnaphalium uliginosum, http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Gnaphalium%20uliginosum&redblue=Both&lifeform=7, Accessed April 7, 2020
- [PFAF] Plants For A Future