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Wyethia mollis

Common name:	Woolly Wyethia	Family:	Compositae
Author:	Gray.	Botanical references:	71, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	One report suggests that the leaves might be poisonous[94].
Range:	South-western N. America - Oregon to California.
Habitat:	Dry wooded slopes and rocky openings, 1500 - 3000 metres in California[71].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Woolly Mule's-ears [B], Woolly Wyethia [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	mollis = soft
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 4/5 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 moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root Seed.

Root - cooked. A sweet and agreeable flavour[94]. The N. American Indians dug pits in the ground which they lined with large stones. They then burnt a fire on top of the stones until the stones were hot. The roots were placed on these hot stones, sealed in with fern leaves and earth and then fermented for one or two days[94].
Seed - raw or cooked[257]. The seed can be used as a piñ ole, or it can be ground into a powder and used as a mush or mixed with cereals flours to make bread etc[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiphlogistic Blood tonic Diaphoretic Emetic Febrifuge Poultice.

The root is antiphlogistic, diaphoretic, emetic and febrifuge[94, 257]. A decoction has been used as a blood tonic and also in the treatment of tuberculosis, venereal diseases, colds and fevers[257]. A poultice of the crushed roots has been applied to swellings[257].
A poultice of the crushed leaves has been applied to sprains, swellings and broken bones[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a free-draining, gritty but moisture-retentive soil in a sunny position[200]. This species is more tolerant of drought than other members of the genus[200].
Plants are not hardy in the colder areas of Britain[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse or cold frame in early spring. Use a very freely-draining compost, prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out into their permanent positions when they are large enough.
Careful division of the crown as the plants come into growth in spring[200].

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[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.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[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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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?Wyethia+mollis
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Wyethia+mollis

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