Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Sunday - October 05, 2014
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: General Botany, Plant Identification
Title: Where do snake herb and skeleton-leaf goldeneye get their names?
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Where does snake herb, and skeleton leaf goldeneye get their names from? Thank you.ANSWER:
For Viguiera stenoloba (Resinbush or Skeleton-leaf goldeneye) the commom name would reflect the fact that it has very narrow leaves (sort of skeleton-like) compared to other members of the Genus Viguiera (goldeneyes) such as Viguiera cordifolia (Heartleaf goldeneye) and Viguiera dentata (Sunflower goldeneye) that have broader leaves. Stenoloba, the species designation, means narrow-lobed.
A meaning for the common name, snake herb, Dyschoriste crenulata (Wavyleaf snakeherb), Dyschoriste oblongifolia (Oblongleaf snakeherb), Dyschoriste linearis (Snake herb) and Dyschoriste schiedeana var. decumbens (Spreading snakeherb) was not so easy to find. However, a brief mention of the reason for the name of snake herb occurs in the book Frontier Naturalist: Jean Louis Berlandier and the Exploration of Northern Mexico and Texas on page 103. It says that the Commanches and the Lipan Apaches chewed the root of a plant called snake herb and made a poultice of the herb-and-saliva that they put on the wound from snake bites. We don't know if this was a species in the Genus Dyschoristes, however. There are also plants with these similar common names—common names including "snake": Sanicula canadensis (Canadian blacksnakeroot), Ageratina aromatica var. aromatica (Lesser snakeroot), and Eryngium aquaticum (Rattlesnake-master) to name just a few. So, even though we can't be completely sure that the plant named in the book above is the same snake herb that is in the Genus Dyschoristes, this is one possible explanation.
From the Image Gallery
More Plant Identification Questions
How to distinguish white-flowered Baptisias?
June 07, 2010 - How can I tell the difference between Baptisia alba and Baptisia alba var. macrophylla
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
August 26, 2011 - I have found a small tree like plant that is small and the stem or trunk was thin and the leaves look like fern leaves. I also found a larger one it was thicker and closer to the ground the leaves wer...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
June 11, 2008 - I have a green plant given in memory of my mom, and I have no idea what it is. It has rounded smooth leaves, green on front, purple on back. Inside each leaf is the impression of another leaf then an...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
July 22, 2013 - I've lived at my apartment complex for a year now and this current spring/summer I noticed the grounds keeper leaving a fern like plant that is approx. 1-2 feet tall and approx. 1 foot wide. It's le...
view the full question and answer
Plant ID from Horseshoe Bend, TX
April 01, 2012 - I am trying to identify two plants - one - a flower springing up in a mint patch/Users/leehsb/Desktop/DSC_0407.JPG/Users/leehsb/Desktop/DSC_0408.JPG and the next a small bunched plant in our garden (n...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |