[Illustration: Pluchea sericea]
Common names: ARROWWEED, MARSH-FLEABANE
Arizona, California, and Texas deserts: (_Pluchea sericea_). Roseate
purple. Spring.
Sunflower family. Size: Perennial, 3 to 10 feet tall.
Seldom found above 3,000 feet elevation, the rank-smelling Arrowweed
forms dense, willow-like thickets in stream beds and in moist, saline
soils. It is common in moist locations from Texas to southern Utah and
south into California and Mexico; usually in pure, dense stands.
The green foliage gives off an agreeable odor, but when the plant dries
this becomes rank and unpleasant, clinging to the plant long after it
has been cut. This odor is often a characteristic of native dwellings
where Arrowweed has been used as a ceiling mat above the rafters.
Arrowweed is browsed by deer, and sometimes by horses and cattle. The
straight stems were used by Indians in making arrowshafts, and are still
important as a construction material in the walls and roofs of mud huts.
The stems are used, also, by desert Indians in basketmaking, and in
fabricating storage bins and animal cages. From the foliage of the stem
tips, Pima Indians brewed a tea which they used as an eye wash.
The flowers are reported to furnish considerable nectar gathered by
Honeybees. The blossoms are inconspicuous and develop into tawny-tufted
seed-heads.