WorldFloraDB - Xerophyllum tenax

Characteristics

A herb. It grows up to 1.5 m high. It is smooth and light green. It keeps growing from year to year. It has a thick rootstock. There are many lower leaves which are long, tough and narrow. They are 2-4 mm wide. The leaves on the stem are like needles and much shorter. The flowers occur as many together in a long raceme. The lower flowers open first. The fruit is an oval capsule.

More

Stems (0.8–)1.2–1.8(–2) m. Leaf blade 2–8(–10) dm × 2–4(–6) mm. Racemes 5–7 dm. Tepals oblong to lanceolate, 6–9 × 2–3 mm; styles 4 mm. Capsules 5–7 mm. Seeds 4 per locule. 2n = 30.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

-

Foliage retention

evergreen

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

1.05 - 1.25

Mature height (meter)

1.2

Root system

rhizome

Rooting depth (meter)

0.2

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

Open coniferous woods, dry ridges, rocky slopes, and clearings; at elevations from sea level to 2,300 metres. Moist places in open woods and clearings, at elevations from sea level to 2,100 metres.

More

It is a temperate plant. It grows on dry hillsides and subalpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The rhizomes are stringy but edible. They are best roasted or boiled.

Uses	fiber medicinal
Edible	rhizomes roots
Therapeutic use	Dermatological Aid (root), Hemostat (root), Orthopedic Aid (root), Fracture (unspecified), Hair-Tonic (unspecified), Sprain (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Hemostat (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	30 - 60
Germination temperacture (C°)	15 - 18
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-