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Thelesperma filifolium
Also called Greenthread, Thread Leaf Thelesperma
Stiff greenthread is a drought-tolerant wildflower of the daisy family with thread-like leaves and golden-yellow daisy-like flowers, native to the plains and dry hills of the southwestern and central United States and northeastern Mexico. It thrives in sunny, well-drained, disturbed or sandy soils and needs little water once established.
Thelesperma filifolium, commonly known as stiff greenthread, or plains greenthread, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is often found growing in shallow soils. It prefers disturbed sites in dry, sandy or gravelly soil with a neutral to basic pH. Stiff greenthread adapts to various soil conditions, including loam, clay, caliche, and roadsides. It generally flowers from March to August, sometimes into October.
In Texas, stiff greenthread can be found growing along roadsides and on dry hills in the South Plains and Edwards Plateau regions. The herb grows over much of the plains and mountain states, reaching up to Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. It grows prolifically on the Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo lands, as well as throughout much of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.
The crushed leaves offer a pleasant aroma and can be made into tea, which is sometimes used medicinally by several Native American tribes. This is especially widespread among southwest tribes, where it is named Navajo tea, Hopi tea, or Indian tea.
Longstalk greenthread · Hopi tea greenthread · Rio Grande greenthread · Slender greenthread · Navajo tea · Greenthread
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thelesperma filifolium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
