Family: Asteraceae
Common Names:
- English: triangle leaf bursage
- Spanish: Chicurilla
- O'odham: Taḍṣagĭ
Scientific Name: Ambrosia deltoidea
Rain Garden Zone: A. deltoidea thrives in the top rain garden zone.
Reproduced with permission from "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond" by Brad Lancaster, HarvestingRainwater.com
Flowering Season: Foresummer
-
Characteristics: A. deltoidea is an evergreen (semi-drought deciduous) shrub that grows up to 1.65 ft in height, with a compact rounded form (1). Slender, brittle branches become reddish-brown as they mature and produce triangular leaves, gray-green in color (1). Flowers are dull yellow-green in color (1).
-
Landscape Cultivation: The shrub is considered low water use, moderately salt and cold tolerant (down to 22 oF); it is commonly found growing on gravelly slopes or on desert flats with full sun exposure (1, 2).
-
Ethnobotany:
-
Wildlife:
Birds, small mammals and ants (which are food for horned lizards) feed on the seeds (1).
-
Ecological:
Can act as a nurse plant for tender young cacti, palo verdes, and ocotillos (5). Fresh cuttings can also act as a deterrent against rabbits when tied to newly transplanted plants (5). May assist in stabilizing soil, reduce erosion (6).
-
Medicinal:
Chewing on the leaves may act as a remedy to relieve menstrual cramps for short durations of time (3,4).
References:
- UA Campus Arboretum
- Mielke, Judy. (1993). Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes. University of Texas Press.
- Kay, Margarita Artschwager. (1996). Healing with Plants in the American and Mexican West. University of Arizona Press.
- Bigfoot, Peter. Useful Wild Western Plants - The Blessings of Southwestern Herbs. Reevis Mountain School and Sanctuary.
- Turner, Raymond M., Bowers, Janice E., and Burgess, Tony L.. (1995) Sonoran Desert Plants - An Ecological Atlas. University of Arizona Press.
- Epple, Anne Orth. (1995). Plants of Arizona. Falcon Press Publishing.