Gamochaeta purpurea, the purple cudweed, purple everlasting, or spoonleaf purple everlasting, is a plant native to North America.[1]

Gamochaeta purpurea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Gamochaeta
Species:
G. purpurea
Binomial name
Gamochaeta purpurea
Synonyms

Gnaphalium purpureum

Description

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It is a small annual herb that produces lanceolate, alternate, wooly leaves and peg-shaped flowerheads in terminal clusters. The seeds are windborne.

Habitat

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It can grow on most any type of soil that is moderately moist, but prefers meadows, rocky terrain, and farmland.

Conservation status in the United States

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It is listed as endangered in Massachusetts and New York, as possibly extirpated in Maine, as historical in Rhode Island,[2] and as a special concern species in Connecticut, where it is believed extirpated.[3]

Ethnobotany

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The Houma people take a decoction of the dried plant for colds and influenza.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ "Plants Profile for Gamochaeta purpurea (spoonleaf purple everlasting )". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Plants Profile for Gamochaeta purpurea (spoonleaf purple everlasting )". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 1 January 2018. (Note: This list is newer and updated from the one used by plants.usda.gov)
  4. ^ Speck, Frank G., 1941, A List of Plant Curatives Obtained From the Houma Indians of Louisiana, Primitive Man 14:49-75, page 64