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Gutierrezia microcephala
Also called Small Head Matchbrush, Thread Snakeweed, Small Head Snakeweed, Sticky Snakeweed
Gutierrezia microcephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names sticky snakeweed, threadleaf snakeweed, threadleaf broomweed, and smallhead snakeweed. It is a subshrub native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and can be found in arid grassland and desert sand dune habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due to the presence of saponins and high concentrations of selenium.
Gutierrezia microcephala can be toxic to livestock, especially when grown in sandy soil. Toxicity is due to the presence of saponins, alkaloids, terpenes, and flavonols, as well as high concentrations of selenium; G. microcephala plants have been found to contain selenium levels of 1287 ppm. Toxicity symptoms include abortion and death; as little as 9 kilograms (20 lb) of fresh G. microcephala consumed by cattle in seven days can cause abortions, and in cattle, sheep, and goats consuming ten to twenty percent of their body weight in two weeks can cause death.
Gutierrezia microcephala, a native North American plant, is found throughout the southwestern United States (from California east as far as Texas and Colorado) and northern Mexico (from Baja California to Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Zacatecas). It occurs in a variety of ecoregions, such as arid grasslands, chaparral, sand dunes, and oak or oak-pine woodlands. G. microcephala is primarily found in well-drained sandy, gravelly, or rocky soils, and is often found in intermittently dry creeks or on the adjacent slopes. It often predominates on shallow, rocky soil, where grasses are not well established.
Gutierrezia microcephala was used by the Native Americans for various reasons. The Cahuilla used an infusion of the plant as a gargle or placed the plant in their mouths as a toothache remedy. The Hopi and Tewa both used the plant as a carminative, as prayer stick decorations, and for roasting sweet corn, and the Navajo applied a poultice of the plant to the back and legs of horses for unknown reasons. The Zuni steeped the flower heads in boiling water and used the tea as a diuretic, tonic, and sweat-inducer, and also used the plant as an indicator of water.
Arizona snakeweed · San Joaquin snakeweed · Lone Mesa snakeweed · San Pedro snakeweed · Broom snakeweed · Late snakeweed · Texas snakeweed · Wright's snakeweed · Snakeweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gutierrezia microcephala by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
