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Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Grindelia squarrosa (Curlycup gumweed)
Pyle, Lynn

Grindelia squarrosa

Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal

Curlycup Gumweed

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: grsq

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

Stout erect stem bears several branches with yellow daisy-like flower heads.

This tough but short-lived perennial, a common invader of overgrazed rangeland in the West, has now spread to dry waste places in the East. Because of its bitter taste it is not eaten by cattle.

 

From the Image Gallery

8 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual , Perennial , Biennial
Habit: Herb
Size Notes: Up to about 3 feet tall, often shorter.
Fruit: Fruit is a cypsela (pl. cypselae). Though technically incorrect, the fruit is often referred to as an achene.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct

Distribution

USA: AR , AZ , CA , CO , CT , DE , IA , ID , IL , IN , KS , KY , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MT , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NV , NY , OH , OK , OR , PA , RI , SD , TN , TX , UT , VA , VT , WA , WI , WY
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NL , NT , QC , SK
Native Distribution: Native in western and southwestern North America, but spreading eastward to the Mid-Atlantic states and north to Ontario and Quebec.
Native Habitat: Prairies and waste places.

Growing Conditions

Soil Moisture: Dry

Benefit

Use Medicinal: First Nations People used its flowers and leaves for treating bronchitis and asthma and for healing sores. The powdered flower heads were once used in cigarettes to relieve asthma. (Niering) Boiled flower heads used as wash for skin diseases, scabs and sores. Tea of plant given to kids for stomach. Tea used for kidney trouble, coughs, whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and colds. (Kindscher) Pounded sappy leaves used for poison ivy rash. Gun used asthma, bronchitis and whooping cough. (Weiner)
Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:AGCPAKAWCBEMPGPHIMWNCNEWMVE
Status: FACU FACU FACU UPL FACU FACU FACU
This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Bibliography

Bibref 1207 - Earth Medicine, Earth Food (1990) Michael A. Weiner
Bibref 610 - Edible wild plants of the prairie : an ethnobotanical guide (1987) Kindscher, K.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Grindelia squarrosa in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Grindelia squarrosa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Grindelia squarrosa

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-12-27
Research By: TWC Staff

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