About Cirsium ochrocentrum A.Gray
Cirsium ochrocentrum A.Gray is a perennial herb that reaches up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height. Each individual plant produces 1 to 20 white woolly stems. Its leaves are typically deeply lobed, with lobes divided into sharp teeth, and are covered in spines that can grow up to 1.5 centimetres long. The longest leaves, found at the base of the plant, can reach about 25 centimetres (10 inches) in length. The inflorescence is made up of multiple flower heads. Each head is lined with hard, toothed phyllaries that have spines at their tips. Each flower head contains only white, pink, or lavender disc florets, with no ray florets present. The fruit is an achene with a brown body nearly 1 centimetre long, topped with a pappus that can measure up to 3 centimetres long. There are two recognized varieties of this species: Cirsium ochrocentrum var. martinii (Barlow-Irick) D.J.Keil, which occurs in Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico, and Cirsium ochrocentrum var. ochrocentrum, which is found in the United States. Among the Zuni people, an infusion of this plant is used as a contraceptive taken by both partners. An infusion of the whole plant is also used as a diaphoretic, diuretic, and emetic to treat syphilis. An infusion of fresh or dried root is taken three times a day to treat diabetes. This species is considered a weed in California and northwestern Mexico, and it grows in fields and disturbed areas such as roadsides.
