Ageratina herbacea is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common names fragrant snakeroot and Apache snakeroot.[3] It is native to desert regions (Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan Deserts) of the southwestern United States (southeastern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas) and northern Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora). It grows in rocky slopes in conifer forests and woodlands.[4][5][6][7]

Ageratina herbacea

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Ageratina
Species:
A. herbacea
Binomial name
Ageratina herbacea
Synonyms[2]
Synonymy
  • Eupatorium ageratifolium var. herbaceum A.Gray
  • Eupatorium arizonicum (A.Gray) Greene
  • Eupatorium arizonicum (A.Gray) A.Nelson
  • Eupatorium betulifolium (Greene) B.L.Rob.
  • Eupatorium herbaceum (A.Gray) Greene
  • Eupatorium occidentale var. arizonicum A.Gray
  • Kyrstenia arizonica (A.Gray) Greene
  • Kyrstenia betulifolia Greene
  • Kyrstenia herbacea (A.Gray) Greene
Flower detail

Ageratina herbacea is a perennial herb growing a green, fuzzy stem from a woody caudex to heights between about 50 and 70 centimeters. The leaves are yellow to green or grayish and are triangular to heart-shaped. The inflorescence is a cluster of fuzzy flower heads under a centimeter long containing long, protruding white disc florets and no ray florets. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long with a rough bristly pappus.[8]

Etymology

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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.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer - Ageratina herbacea". NatureServe Explorer Ageratina herbacea. NatureServe. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 22 Jun 2022.
  2. ^ "Ageratina herbacea (A.Gray) 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 Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  3. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Ageratina herbacea​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
  4. ^ Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "Ageratina herbacea". 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.
  5. ^ "Ageratina herbacea". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  6. ^ "Ageratina herbacea". Calflora. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
  7. ^ Turner, B. L. 1997. The Comps of Mexico: A systematic account of the family Asteraceae, vol. 1 – Eupatorieae. Phytologia Memoirs 11: i–iv, 1–272
  8. ^ Hickman, James C., ed. (1993). "Ageratina herbacea". The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University and Jepson Herbaria.
  9. ^ Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 39
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Ageratina herbacea in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley