Ageratina occidentalis | |
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Regional Parks Botanic Garden Berkeley, California | |
Conservation status | |
Apparently Secure (NatureServe) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Ageratina |
Species: | A. occidentalis |
Binomial name | |
Ageratina occidentalis (Hook.) King & H.Rob. | |
Synonyms | |
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Ageratina occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name western snakeroot or western eupatorium. It is native to the western United States where it grows in several types of habitat. It is found in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah.
Ageratina occidentalis is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing fuzzy green or purple stems to a maximum height near 70 centimeters. Its leaves are glandular and triangular, with serrated edges. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of fuzzy flower heads containing long, protruding disc florets in shades of white, pink, and blue. There are no ray florets. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long with a rough, bristly pappus.
Etymology
Ageratina is derived from Greek meaning 'un-aging', in reference to the flowers keeping their color for a long time. This name was used by Dioscorides for a number of different plants.
The name Eupatorium comes from the Greek king Mithridates VI Eupator, who is said to have discovered that a species in the genus could be used as an antidote to a common poison.
References
- "NatureServe Explorer - Ageratina occidentalis". NatureServe Explorer Ageratina occidentalis. NatureServe. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 22 Jun 2022.
- "Ageratina occidentalis (Hook.) R.M.King & H.Rob.". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "Ageratina occidentalis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- "Ageratina occidentalis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
- Keil, David J.; Powell, A. Michael (1993). "Ageratina occidentalis". In Hickman, James C. (ed.). The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University and Jepson Herbaria.
- Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 39
- Blackwell, Laird R. (2006). Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide to Common Wildflowers of the High Deserts of Nevada, Utah, and Oregon (A Falcon Guide) (1st ed.). Guilford, Conn.: Morris Book Publishing, LLC. p. 56. ISBN 0-7627-3805-7. OCLC 61461560.
External links
- Media related to Ageratina occidentalis at Wikimedia Commons
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
- Ageratina occidentalis in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley
Taxon identifiers | |
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Ageratina occidentalis |
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Eupatorium occidentale |