Matchweed, Gutierrezia sarothrae

About Matchweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Gutierrezia sarothrae is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names broom snakeweed and perennial matchweed. It is native to much of the western half of North America, from central Canada to northern Mexico. It can be found in a number of desert, grassland, and mountain habitats. This is a small, dense, bushy subshrub reaching maximum heights around half a meter. The multibranched stems and twigs are greenish or tan when young and age to woody brown. There are scattered narrow to thready leaves along the branches. The plant flowers abundantly in flower clusters of a few flowers each. The flower is about a centimeter long and bright golden yellow with a center of a few long, protruding disc florets and a fringe of ray florets. The plant is toxic to livestock in large quantities, due mainly to the presence of saponins and concentrated selenium.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

1.5 - 2 ft tall

Form

Upright

Growth Rate

Moderate

Flower Color

Yellow, Brown

Flowering Season

Summer

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

, 9 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Rabbitbrush Webbing Moth Synnoma lynosyranaSynnoma lynosyrana

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Dusky Raisin Moth Ephestiodes gilvescentellaEphestiodes gilvescentella

Sunflower Moth Homoeosoma electellaHomoeosoma electella

Green Broomweed Looper Moth Fernaldella fimetariaFernaldella fimetaria

Hemieuxoa rudensHemieuxoa rudens

Tricholita chipetaTricholita chipeta

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Extremely Low, Very Low

Nurseries

Carried by 3

Soil Description

Adaptable, tolerant of sand, loam and clay

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones?

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

Natural Setting

Site Type

Grassy places, deserts and s

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 3.5" - 41.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.16" - 4.41", Coldest Month: 22.0" - 58.3", Hottest Month: 41.4" - 87.0", Humidity: 0.94" - 41.88", Elevation: 19" - 11854"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Broom Snakeweed, Broomsnakeweed, Broomweed, Perennial Matchweed, Perennial Snakeweed, Stinkweed, Turpentine Weed

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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

Matchweed

Gutierrezia sarothrae

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MatchweedGutierrezia sarothrae

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Matchweed

Gutierrezia sarothrae