Brickellia grandiflora

Brickellia grandiflora (Hook.) Nutt

By Maddy Palaschak, Native Plants of Arizona 2004
Common names: Bricklebush, Tasselflower (1).
Family: Asteraceae
Synonymy: Brickellia grandiflora (Hook.) Nutt. var. petiolaris Gray, Coleosanthus grandiforus (Hook.) Kuntze (3).
Etymology: Brickellia refers to the Irish physician John Brickell (6). Grandiflora refers to the large flowers.

Identification
Growth form: Herbaceous subshrub can be over three feet tall (2).
Roots: Fusiform (4).
Stem: Erect, herbaceous, several from the root (4).
Leaves: Alternate leaves that are approximately two inches in length. The toothed triangular leaves are a dark green on top and a light gray-purple underneath (1). Slightly serrated (5).
Inflorescence/flowers: Disc flowers creamy white to yellow (1). 20-38 drooping heads (5).
Fruit: Two long lines of brown achenes (4). The fruit also has fine hairs at the tips (1).
Similar species: Brickellia greene is slightly smaller with sticky, ovate, alternate leaves (5).

Ecology
Life history: Perennial (1).
Native/introduced: Native to Western North America (3).
Photosynthetic pathway:
Phenology: Late August (1).
Distribution: Western United States including Texas , Missouri and Rhode Island (3). Grows within 4,500 to 10,000m in elevation, usually found in pinyon-juniper, spruce and fir forests (1).

Uses
Brickellia grandiflora helps lower high blood sugar in insulin-resistant diabetics, stimulates fat digestion in the gallbladder and improves stomach lining and stomach digestion (1).

References

1. Frances Miller, Cuauhtemoc Rios, Forrest Ross. “ Brickellia grandiflora. ” Medicinal Plants of the Southwest. New Mexico State University . http://medplant.nmsu.edu/brickellia.htm.

2. Al and Betty Schneider. “ Brickellia grandiflora ”. Southwest Colorado Wildflowers. Al and Betty Schneider. 2001-2004. http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com.

3. “Plants Profile”. United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/.

4. Jepson, Willis. 1925. Flowering Plants of California . Sather Gate Bookshop. California . pp. 1017.

5. Graf, Micheal. 1999. Plants of the Tahoe Basin . University of California Press. Berkeley . pp. 110.

6. Quattrocchi, Umberto. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names . CRC Press 2000. New York , London , Washington . pp. 354.

Brickellia grandiflora (Hook.) Nutt By Maddy Palaschak, Native Plants of Arizona 2004 Common names: Bricklebush, Tasselflower (1). Family: Asteraceae Synonymy: Brickellia grandiflora (Hook.) Nutt. var. petiolaris Gray, Coleosanthus grandiforus (Hook.) Kuntze (3). Etymology: Brickellia refers to the Irish physician John Brickell (6). Grandiflora refers to the large flowers. Identification Growth form: Herbaceous subshrub can be over three feet tall (2). Roots: Fusiform (4). Stem: Erect, herbaceous, several from the root (4). Leaves: Alternate leaves that are approximately two inches in length. The toothed triangular leaves are a dark green on top and a light gray-purple underneath (1). Slightly serrated (5). Inflorescence/flowers: Disc flowers creamy white to yellow (1). 20-38 drooping heads (5). Fruit: Two long lines of brown achenes (4). The fruit also has fine hairs at the tips (1). Similar species: Brickellia greene is slightly smaller with sticky, ovate, alternate leaves (5). Ecology Life history: Perennial (1). Native/introduced: Native to Western North America (3). Photosynthetic pathway: Phenology: Late August (1). Distribution: Western United States including Texas , Missouri and Rhode Island (3). Grows within 4,500 to 10,000m in elevation, usually found in pinyon-juniper, spruce and fir forests (1). Uses Brickellia grandiflora helps lower high blood sugar in insulin-resistant diabetics, stimulates fat digestion in the gallbladder and improves stomach lining and stomach digestion (1). References 1. Frances Miller, Cuauhtemoc Rios, Forrest Ross. “ Brickellia grandiflora. ” Medicinal Plants of the Southwest. New Mexico State University . http://medplant.nmsu.edu/brickellia.htm. 2. Al and Betty Schneider. “ Brickellia grandiflora ”. Southwest Colorado Wildflowers. Al and Betty Schneider. 2001-2004. http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com. 3. “Plants Profile”. United States Department of Agriculture. http://plants.usda.gov/. 4. Jepson, Willis. 1925. Flowering Plants of California . Sather Gate Bookshop. California . pp. 1017. 5. Graf, Micheal. 1999. Plants of the Tahoe Basin . University of California Press. Berkeley . pp. 110. 6. Quattrocchi, Umberto. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names . CRC Press 2000. New York , London , Washington . pp. 354.