Gnaphalium luteo-album L.   Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)   Old World   Weedy Cudweed

                                             May Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Permanently tomentose annual weed 2-6 dm. high, the stems erect from a decumbent base, leafy, loosely branched; lvs. linear-oblanceolate, 2-4 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, obtuse the upper cauline becoming linear-lanceolate and acute to attenuate; heads in usually several cymosely arranged terminal clusters; invol. 4-5 mm. high, the hyaline tipped phyllaries greenish or brownish-stramineous, the inner ones lance-oblong; corollas reddish-tipped; achenes minutely papillose.

Habitat:  Occasional along roadsides, etc., below 2100 m.,  Riverside Co., Los Angeles Co., Santa Barbara Co.; to cent. Calif.; Santa Catalina, San Clemente, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara Ids.  Flowering all year.

Name:  Greek, gnaphalon, a lock of wool, these plants floccose-woolly. (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 171).  Luteolus, yellowish and albus, white.  (Bailey 17, 10).

General:  Moderately common in the study area having been found in several locations after it was first collected on the road to Shellmaker Island in 1988.  Photographed there.  On an outing with John Johnson in May 1988, I would have passed this plant by as a small G. microcephalum, however, Mr. Johnson took a specimen and later identified it as G. purpureum.  Further study showed that it was neither species but is G. luteo-album.  (my comments).      G. polycephalum was used by the peasants of Europe as a pipe tobacco.  It is an astringent.  Irritations of the mouth and throat are said to be relieved by chewing the leaves and blossoms; and the leaves applied to bruises and other local irritations are very efficacious.  (Meyer 73, 224).

Text Ref:  Abrams Vol. IV 468; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 171.

Photo Ref:  May 2 88 # 27,28.

Identity: by R. De Ruff.  

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 370.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit  10/20/02.

                                              May Photo