Machaeranthera tanacetifolia

Machaeranthera tanacetifolia
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Machaeranthera
Species:	M. tanacetifolia
Binomial name
	Machaeranthera tanacetifolia; (Kunth) Nees
Synonyms
	Machaeranthera coronopifolia; Machaeranthera parthenium

Machaeranthera tanacetifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae 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 10–40 centimetres (4–15+1⁄2 inches) in height.[1] The multilobed leaves are up to 5–12.5 cm (2–5 in) long.[1] Between May and September,[1] an inflorescence bears one or more flower heads lined with spreading or curling, pointed phyllaries. The head has a center of many yellow disc florets and a fringe of many lavender to purple ray florets each 1 to 2 cm (1⁄3 to 2⁄3 in) long. The fruit is a flat achene about 1 cm long including the pappus.

It is similar to M. parviflora, the flower heads of which are smaller.[1]

Plant before flowering
Close-up of foliage
Underside of flower
Flower gone to seed

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Alberta, the southwestern and central United States, and northern Mexico. It grows in several types of habitat, including sandy open plains and deserts.[1]

Uses

The Zuni people use an infusion of the flowers taken with other flowers for unspecified illnesses.[2]

References

Spellenberg, Richard (2001) [1979]. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region (rev ed.). Knopf. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-0-375-40233-3.
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)

External links

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[:0-1] Spellenberg, Richard (2001) [1979]. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region (rev ed.). Knopf. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-0-375-40233-3.

[2] 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)