Encelia farinosa


Encelia farinosa, is a common desert shrub of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
The common name "brittlebush" comes from the brittleness of its stems. Other names include hierba del vaso and cotx. Another Spanish name for it is incienso because the dried sap was burned by early Spanish missions in the New World as incense.

Habitat

E. farinosa can be found in a variety of habitats from dry, gravelly slopes to open, sandy washes up to. It requires a very sunny position in a deep very well-drained soil, and minimal winter frost.
It does well in cultivation often being used for border, erosion control, ground cover and massing. Recently the plant has spread dramatically in areas not natural to its distribution in large part because Caltrans has begun to use it in hydroseeding.

Description

Brittlebush grows up to tall, with fragrant leaves long, ovate to deltoid, and silvery tomentose. The capitula are 3.0–3.5cm in diameter, with orange-yellow ray florets and yellow or purple-brown disc florets. They are arranged in loose panicles above the leafy stems fruit 3–6mm and no pappus is visible. During dry seasons the plant goes drought deciduous, shedding all of its foliage, relying on the water stored in its thick stems.
3-Acetyl-6-methoxybenzaldehyde is found in the leaves of E. farinosa.

Varieties

Two varieties of E. farinosa are recognized by Flora of North America.
Varieties formerly included E. f. var. radians, now regarded as a separate species E. radians Brandegee.

Uses

Brittlebush has a long history of uses by indigenous and pioneer peoples.