Porophyllum gracile Benth. (redirected from: Porophyllum putidum)
Family: Asteraceae
[Porophyllum caesium Greene,  more...]
Porophyllum gracile image

Subshrubs or shrubs, 20-70 cm; internodes mostly 10-30 mm. Leaf blades linear to filiform, 20-50 × 1-5 mm. Phyllaries 5, oblong to linear, 9-15 mm. Florets (5-)12-30; corollas whitish to purplish, 6-9 mm. Cypselae 6-10 mm; pappi: longer bristles 7-9 mm. 2n = 48.

Flowering late winter-early summer; fall. Sandy, gravelly, and rocky sites (usually granitic) with desert scrub; 200-2100 m; Ariz., Calif., N.Mex., Tex.; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora).

FNA 2006, Wiggins 1964, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Subshrub

General: Slender to moderately branched suffrutescent perennial, 20-70 cm tall, internodes mostly 10-30 mm, faintly glaucous or quite green or purplish stems.

Leaves: Scattered, sparsely glandular, thinly linear to filiform blades, 0.5-1 mm wide and 2-5.5 cm long.

Flowers: Heads solitary at ends of branches on peduncles 1-3 cm long and slightly dilated upward, involucres cylindro-campanulate, 8-14 mm high, phyllaries 5, oblong to linear; florets 12-30, corollas whitish to purplish, 6-9 mm, with darker purple streaks, tube shorter than narrow throat.

Fruits: Brownish cypselae 6-10 mm, pappus of tawny, stramineous or rose-colored, very slender bristles 5-8 mm long.

Ecology: Found on rocky slopes, outwash fans, in canyons and arroyos; below 4,000 ft (1219 m); flowers March-October.

Distribution: s CA, s NV, s UT, AZ, sw NM and sw TX; south to c MEX, especially common in Baja.

Notes: A very distinctive species with wiry, diffuse, highly branched stems; the whole plant being dark bluish or purplish-green with a powdery coating; the leaves often sparse or non-existent and when present, thin and linear. Especially memorable is the strong scent from the crushed plant.

Ethnobotany: Taken for pain, as a liniment for rheumatism, for aches, as a wash for sores, abdominal pain, and taken to regulate delayed menstruation.

Etymology: Porophyllum is from Greek poros, a passage or pore, and phyllon, leaf, a reference to the translucent glands on the leaf, while gracile means slender, or graceful.

Synonyms: Porophyllum caesium, Porophyllum junciforme, Porophyllum nodosum, Porophyllum putidum, Porophyllum vaseyi

Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015

Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
L.R. Landrum  
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
L.R. Landrum  
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
L. R. Landrum  
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
Porophyllum gracile image
L. R. Landrum  
Porophyllum gracile image