Biology:Purshia mexicana

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Short description: Species of plant in Mexico

Purshia mexicana
Purshia mexicana (7612613108).jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Purshia
Species:
P. mexicana
Binomial name
Purshia mexicana
(D.Don) S.L.Welsh
Synonyms[1]

Cowania mexicana D.Don

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 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]

References

  1. The International Plant Names Index, http://www.ipni.org/index.html, retrieved 19 June 2016 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Little Jr., Elbert L. (1976). Atlas of United States Trees. 3 (Minor Western Hardwoods). US Government Printing Office. OCLC 4053799. 
  3. "Anti-tumor promoting activity of polyphenols from Cowania mexicana and Coleogyne ramosissima". Cancer Lett. 143 (1): 5–13. August 1999. doi:10.1016/S0304-3835(99)00160-3. PMID 10465331. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 396. ISBN 0-394-73127-1. https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/396. 

Further reading

  • 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. 

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q7261563 entry