Ageratina occidentalis

Ageratina occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name western snakeroot or western eupatorium.[2] It is native to the western United States where it grows in several types of habitat. It is found in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah.[3]

Ageratina occidentalis
Regional Parks Botanic Garden
Berkeley, California
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Ageratina
Species:
A. occidentalis
Binomial name
Ageratina occidentalis
Synonyms[1]
  • Eupatorium occidentale Hook.
  • Eupatorium berlandieri A.Gray
  • Eupatorium oregonum Nutt.
  • Kyrstenia occidentalis (Hook.) Greene

Ageratina occidentalis is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing fuzzy green or purple stems to a maximum height near 70 centimeters. The glandular leaves are triangular with serrated edges. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of fuzzy flower heads containing long, protruding disc florets in shades of white, pink, and blue. There are no ray florets. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long with a rough, bristly pappus.[4]

Etymology

Ageratina is derived from Greek meaning 'un-aging', in reference to the flowers keeping their color for a long time. This name was used by Dioscorides for a number of different plants.[5]

The name Eupatorium comes from the Greek king Mithridates Eupator, who is said to have discovered that a species in the genus could be used as an antidote to a common poison.[6]

References
  1. "Ageratina occidentalis (Hook.) R.M.King & H.Rob.". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List.
  2. Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "Ageratina occidentalis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 21. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. "Ageratina occidentalis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  4. Keil, David J.; Powell, A. Michael (1993). "Ageratina occidentalis". In Hickman, James C. (ed.). The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University and Jepson Herbaria.
  5. Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 39
  6. Blackwell, Laird R. (2006). Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide to Common Wildflowers of the High Deserts of Nevada, Utah, and Oregon (A Falcon Guide) (1st ed.). Guilford, Conn.: Morris Book Publishing, LLC. p. 56. ISBN 0-7627-3805-7. OCLC 61461560.


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