Yerba Mansa, Anemopsis californica

About Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica) 54 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Yerba mansa or lizard tail, is a perennial flowering plant within the family Saururaceae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anemopsis. It is native to southwestern North America. In early spring numerous tiny white flowers are borne on a cone which is surrounded by 4-9 large white spoon-shaped bracts that look like petals. As it matures, the visible part of the plant develops red stains, eventually turning bright red in the fall. Yerba mansa means "calming herb" in Spanish (yerba = "herb"; mansa = "calm or tranquil").

Yerba Mansa requires moist soil, so best to plant in streambeds, seeps or other damp areas. It goes dormant and basically disappears from late summer to early winter, and re-sprouts from the roots in late winter. It produces beautiful white flowers in the early spring that remain on the plant until it starts to go dormant in late summer. It will often spread out like a carpet throughout the damper soil, and choke out any other plants in the area, and in particular while it's blooming, it's quite beautiful.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

0.33 - 1 ft tall
2 ft wide

Form

Upright, Spreading

Growth Rate

Fast, Moderate

Dormancy

Winter Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance

Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color

White, Cream, Red

Flowering Season

Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported

Primarily insects
Butterfly host plants

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Keep moist

Nurseries

Carried by 54

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 0 - 5° F

Soil Drainage

Medium, Slow, Standing

Soil Description

Tolerant of almost any soil as long as it remains constantly moist. Soil PH: 5.0 - 9.0

Common uses

Bogs and Ponds, Groundcovers, Deer Resistant

Companion Plants

Yellow Monkeyflower, Scarlet Monkeyflower, Stream Orchid, various Rushes, various sedges, Iris spp, Equisetum spp.

Maintenance

May be attacked by leaf eating insects, but usually not fatal. Runners may be cut off at any time to control its tendency to spread. Larger patches may be mowed.

Propagation?

Cut off runners may be transplanted to other damp locations and will root quickly. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones?

3, 6, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11, 12, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Saline or alkaline soil, wet or moist places, seeps, springs, muddy creek banks, pond margins, bogs

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 1.9" - 31.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.95", Coldest Month: 31.1" - 61.0", Hottest Month: 57.2" - 90.4", Humidity: 0.86" - 48.25", Elevation: -271" - 7444"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Yerba-mansa

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Yerba Mansa

Anemopsis californica

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Yerba MansaAnemopsis californica

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Yerba Mansa

Anemopsis californica