Parthenium

Feverfew Guayule
Parthenium hysterophorus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Asteroideae
Tribe:	Heliantheae[1]
Genus:	Parthenium L.
Type species
Parthenium hysterophorus[2][3] L.
Synonyms[1]
Villanova Ortega Bolophyta Nutt. Partheniastrum Fabr. Echetrosis Phil. Hysterophorus Vaill. Argyrochaeta Cav.

Parthenium is a genus of North American shrubs in the sunflower tribe within the daisy family.^[4][3]

The name Parthenium is derived from either the Greek word παρθένος (parthenos), meaning "virgin," or παρθένιον (parthenion), an ancient name for a plant.^[5]

Members of the genus are commonly known as feverfew.^[6] Notable species include guayule (P. argentatum) which has been used as a rubber substitute, especially during the Second World War;^[7] and also P. hysterophorus, a serious invasive species in the Old World.^[8]

Species^[1]

1. Parthenium alpinum (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray – Arkansas River feverfew - NM CO WY
2. Parthenium argentatum A.Gray – Guayule - TX, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas
3. Parthenium cineraceum Rollins - Bolivia, Paraguay
4. Parthenium confertum A.Gray – Gray's feverfew - AZ NM TX Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Tamaulipas
5. Parthenium fruticosum Less. - from Tamaulipas to Chiapas
6. Parthenium hysterophorus L. – Santa Maria feverfew, whitetop weed - widespread in North + South America
7. Parthenium incanum Kunth – mariola - NV UT AZ NM TX Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas
8. Parthenium integrifolium L. – American feverfew, wild quinine - from TX to MA + MN
9. Parthenium ligulatum (M.E. Jones) Barneby – Colorado feverfew - CO UT
10. Parthenium rollinsianum Rzed. - San Luis Potosí
11. Parthenium schottii Greenm. ex Millsp. & Chase - Yucatán
12. Parthenium tomentosum DC. - Oaxaca, Puebla

Uses

In North America, the Jicarilla Apache people used Parthenium incanum for medicine (Opler 1946: 8). The sap of guayule (P. argentatum) is a source of natural rubber.^[9] It is often mistaken for marijuana because of it being referred to as a "weed".

Gallery

• 
  Parthenium argentatum
• 
  Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)

Parthenium hysterophorus in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

References

1. Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
2. lectotype designated by N.L. Britton & A. Brown, Ill. fl. n. U.S., ed. 2. 3: 464 (1913)
3. Tropicos, Parthenium L.
4. Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 988 in Latin
5. Strother, John L. "Parthenium Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 988. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 426. 1754.". Flora of North America. eFloras.org. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
6. "Parthenium". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
7. Ray, D.T. 1993. Guayule: A source of natural rubber. p. 338-343. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), New crops. Wiley, New York.
8. "Parthenium hysterophorus (herb)". Global Invasive Species Database. Invasive Species Specialist Group. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
9. Ray, Dennis T. (1993). J. Janick and J.E. Simon, eds. "Guayule: A source of natural rubber". New crops. New York: Wiley: 338–343.

• Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L.; Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 0-89672-614-2
• Opler, Morris E. (1946). Childhood and youth in Jicarilla Apache society. Publications of the Frederick Webb Hodge Anniversary Fund (Vol. 5). Los Angeles: The Southwest Museum Administrator of the Fund.