Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

CURLY-CUP GUMWEED

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Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh ) Dunal

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Biennial

Height: 4-40 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August, September

Also Called:

Curly-top gumweed.

Stems:

Erect to spreading, often solitary, short-branched above, glabrous.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sessile, clasping, oblong to ovate, .5 to 2.75 inches long, .25 to .75 inch wide, dotted with minute resinous glands; margins toothed to occasionally entire; tips blunt to pointed; upper leaves reduced.

Inflorescences:

Heads, several to numerous, terminal, 1 to 1.5 inches wide; bracts overlapping, sticky; tips turning outward.

Flowers:

Ray florets 12-37, about 1/2 inch long, yellow; disk florets numerous, dark yellow.

Fruits:

Achenes, small, ribbed, tipped with 2-8 fine-toothed awns, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Dry, disturbed sites, waste areas, and roadsides.

Distribution:

Throughout, more frequently in north 1/2 of Kansas.

Forage Value:

Livestock find curly-cup gumweed unpalatable due to the tannins, oils, and resins it contains.

Uses:

Many Great Plains tribes used this plant medicinally to treat coughs, colds, stomachaches, liver disorders, snow-blindness, and as a wash for saddle sores.

Comments:

The common name comes from the resinous sap and curling bracts of the flowering heads. The roots can grow to 6 feet long, giving plants good drought resistance.

Curly-cup gumweed