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Pectis papposa

Common name:	Chinchweed	Family:	Compositae
Author:	Harv.&Gray.	Botanical references:	71
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America.
Habitat:	Sandy and clay flats from sea level to 1500 metres in deserts and creosote bush scrub in California[71].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cinchweed Fetidmarigold [P], Fetid Marigold [E], Many-bristle Cinchweed [B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.3m. It is frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Seed.

The flowers are used as a condiment[161, 177, 183].
The seed can be parched, ground into a powder then used as a thickener and flavouring in soups or can be mixed with water to make a mush or porridge[257].
Leaves - raw or cooked[257]. The native American Indians would dip the leaves in salty water then eat them as a condiment with mush or cornmeal[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Carminative; Laxative; Ophthalmic.

The plant is carminative and laxative[257].
An infusion of the blossoms has been used as eye drops in the treatment of snow blindness[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species. It is not frost-hardy but can be grown outdoors in Britain as a half-hardy annual and probably requires a dry to moist light or medium well-drained soil in a sunny position.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.
If you have sufficient seed it may be worthwhile trying an outdoor sowing in situ in mid to late spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Pectis+papposa
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Pectis+papposa

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.