Stanleya pinnata

Stanleya pinnata is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known as desert princesplume.[1] It is native to North America.

Stanleya pinnata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Stanleya
Species:
S. pinnata
Binomial name
Stanleya pinnata

Distribution

The plant is native to the western Great Plains and western North America.[2]

It occurs in many types of open habitat, including deserts, chaparral, foothills, rocky cliffs, sagebrush, and prairie. It prefers alkali- and gypsum-rich soils.[3]

Description

Stanleya pinnata is a perennial herb or shrub producing several erect stems reaching up to about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in maximum height. The stems are hairless, often waxy in texture, and have woody bases. The leaves have fleshy blades up to 15 centimeters long by 5 wide which are divided into several long, narrow lobes. The blades are borne on petioles.

The top of the stem is occupied by a long inflorescence which is a dense raceme of many flowers. Each flower has narrow yellowish sepals which open to reveal four bright yellow petals each up to 2 centimeters long. The stamens protruding from the flower's center may approach 3 centimeters in length.

The fruit is a curving, wormlike silique up to 8 centimeters long.

Uses

It has been used as a Native American traditional medicinal plant and food source, including by the Hopi, Zuni, Paiute, Navajo, Kawaiisu, and Tewa peoples.[4]

Ecology

It is a larval host to both Becker's white and checkered white caterpillars[5].

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References
  1. "Stanleya pinnata". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. Flora of North America
  3. Houk, Rose. (1987). Wildflowers of the American West . Chronicle Books, San Francisco. ISBN 0-87701-424-8.
  4. University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Stanleya pinnata
  5. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
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