Purshia mexicana

Purshia mexicana is a species of perennial flowering small tree in the rose family known by the common name Mexican cliffrose. It is native to western-northern Mexico, the region of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera.

Purshia mexicana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Purshia
Species:
P. mexicana
Binomial name
Purshia mexicana
Synonyms[1]

Cowania mexicana D.Don

Purshia stansburyana, native to the southwestern United States, has sometimes been included within P. mexicana.[2]

In its mostly mountainous, or higher elevation habitat, it grows in woodlands, desert, and plateau habitat.

Stenophyllanin A, a tannin, can be found in P. mexicana.[3]

Distribution

The range of Mexican Cliffrose is from the western Mexican Plateau in the south, and the southern Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera north to a small region of northwest Sonora;[2] it has a continuous range in the cordillera from Chihuahua south through Durango and Zacatecas, all mostly north of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, though a few scattered locales do occur in the belt.[2]

Uses

The plant is browsed by deer, cattle, and sheep, and is particularly important to these species during the winter.[4]

Native Americans made ropes and clothing from the bark, and fashioned arrow shafts from the stems.[4]

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References
  1. The International Plant Names Index, retrieved 19 June 2016
  2. Little 1976, Map 55-SW, Map 55-N, Cowania mexicana
  3. Ito H, Miyake M, Nishitani E, Mori K, Hatano T, Okuda T, Konoshima T, Takasaki M, Kozuka M, Mukainaka T, Tokuda H, Nishino H, Yoshida T (August 1999). "Anti-tumor promoting activity of polyphenols from Cowania mexicana and Coleogyne ramosissima". Cancer Lett. 143 (1): 5–13. doi:10.1016/S0304-3835(99)00160-3. PMID 10465331.
  4. Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 396. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.

Further reading
  • Little, Elbert L. (1976). "Map 55-SW, Map 55-N, Cowania mexicana". Minor Western Hardwoods. Atlas of United States Trees. 3. US Government Printing Office. LCCN 79-653298.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Cronquist, A.; Holmgren, N.H.; Holmgren, P.K.; Cronquist, A. (1997). Subclass Rosidae (except Fabales). Intermountain flora: Vascular plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. 3A. The New York Botanical Garden. ISBN 0893273740.


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