|
Cliffrose
Common
Name(s):
Cliffrose
Stansbury Cliffrose
Scientific
Name:
Purshia
stansburiana (Torr.) Henrickson
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
Cowania mexicana D.
Don var. stansburiana (Torr.) Jepson
Purshia mexicana (D. Don) Welsh
Symbol:
PUST
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Evergreen
Growth Characteristics:
A
3 to 12 foot shrub or small tree, much branched, with a rounded
crown. Flowers April to June and fruits mature September to October.
Reproduces from seed, and rarely from sprouting.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Flowers
are solitary and borne at the end of small lateral branches. The
flowers are cream to yellow colored with 5 petals and 5 sepals.
Fruits/Seeds:
Fruit is a hairy achene, with 4 to 10 seeds, topped with a 2-inch
silvery, feathery tail.
Leaves: Alternate,
often clustered at the tips of short branchlets, and very small
(about ½ inch long). Divided into 3 to 9 (usually 5) lobes
with rolled margins. The leaves are leathery, with shiny resinous
glands, and are slightly hairy. The top of the leaf is dark green,
and underside of leaf is a paler green with white hairs.
Stems: Twigs
are erect and very bitter. Branches are brittle. The bark is green
to reddish-brown when young, becoming black, scaly, and shreddy
later. Wood is hard, heavy, and brown.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Found
on cliffs, hillsides, mesas, and in washes. It is usually found
on the hot and dry south and west aspects, at elevations from 2,500
to 8,500 feet. It is drought resistant and mature plants are fairly
shade tolerant.
Soils: Most
abundant on rocky, limestone soils.
Associated Species:
Utah
juniper, pinyon pine, big
sagebrush, gambel oak.
Uses and
Management:
Stansbury
cliffrose is an important browse species for mule deer, elk, pronghorn,
desert bighorn sheep, livestock, game birds, and songbirds. Wild
ungulates and livestock use it heavily in winter; it is the principle
winter browse species on the Kaibab Plateau. Livestock may use it
only lightly in spring and summer if deciduous browse species are
available. Rodents eat Stansbury cliffrose seeds. Elk and other
large ungulates use Stansbury cliffrose for bedding cover.
Triterpenoids extracted from Stansbury cliffrose have been shown
to have inhibitory effects on HIV and Epstein-Barr virus. Native
Americans used the inner bark for making clothing and ropes, and
the branches for making arrows. Hopi used Stansbury cliffrose as
an emetic and a wash for wounds.
Stansbury cliffrose is used in ornamental landscaping.
|
