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Mulesear
Common
Name(s):
Mulesear
Wyethia
Scientific
Name:
Wyethia
amplexicaulis (Nutt.) Nutt
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
Wyethia arizonica Gray
(in southern Utah)
Symbol:
WYAM
Description:
Life
Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Cool
Growth Characteristics:
An
erect forb, growing 1 to 2 feet tall, with 1 stem growing from a
simple or branching taproot. Flowers May to July, reproduces from
seeds and branching taproot.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Large,
yellow, sunflower-like, solitary on stem, up to 4 inches in diameter.
Fruits/Seeds:Fruit
is an achene.
Leaves: Large,
dark green, glossy, lance-shaped (like mule ears). They are alternate
if on stem, but mostly basal. The surface is glossy or hairy. Leaves
can grow up to 16 inches long.
Ecological
Adaptations:
It
grows on open flats, gentle slopes, and parks from the sagebrush-bluebunch
wheatgrass zones through the ponderosa pine and aspen types up into
the spruce-fir zones. It can grow at elevations up to 9000 feet.
Mulesear sprouts from underground rootstalks or from the root crown
following damage to above-ground portions of the plant.
Soils: Found
mainly on clay soils and persist there. It can also be found on
gravelly soils.
Associated Species:
Cheatgrass,
big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, mountain
brome, aspen.
Uses and
Management:
Mulesear
is poor forage for cattle, horses, deer and elk. It is poor to fair
for sheep. The immature foliage is most frequently consumed. All
classes of livestock and big game eat the flower heads. It is often
a sign of past overuse of a site, usually by sheep. It is strongly
aromatic.
American Indians fermented roots of mulesear for 2 days in a pit
heated with hot stones to develop a sweet flavored food.
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