The monotypic genus ''Anemopsis'' has only one species, ''Anemopsis californica'', with the common names yerba mansa or lizard tail. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb in the lizard tail family (

Saururaceae Saururaceae is a plant family comprising four genera and seven species of herbaceous flowering plants native to eastern and southern Asia and North America. The family has been recognised by most taxonomists, and is sometimes known as the "lizard ...

) and prefers very wet soil or shallow water.Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd Ed., 2000, p. 175

Range and habitat

It is native to southwestern North America in northwest Mexico and the Southwestern United States from California to Oklahoma and Texas to Kansas to Oregon. It grows in wet, alkaline marsh and creek edges.

Description

Leaves and stems

As it matures, the visible part of the plant develops red stains, eventually turning bright red in the fall.Medicinal Plants of the SW - ''Anemopsis californica''
, retrieved on July 17, 2007.

Inflorescence and fruit

Yerba mansa is showy in spring when in bloom. The iconic white "flowers" (actually reduced inflorescences, or pseudanthia) are borne in early spring, and are surrounded by 4–9 large white bracts. Similar to the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, what appears to be a single bloom is in reality a dense cluster of individually small flowers borne in an inflorescence. In this species the inflorescence is conical and has five to ten large white

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or ...

beneath it, so that along with the tiny white florets, the whole structure is quite striking when it blooms in spring. The conical structure develops into a single, tough fruit that can be carried downstream to spread the tiny, pepper-like

seeds A seed is an Plant embryogenesis, embryonic plant enclosed in a testa (botany), protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, includ ...

Common name

In her book on

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

of the southwestern USA, Dr. Soule discusses the common name. "''Yerba mansa'' is one of those names which confounds linguists. ''Yerba'' is Spanish for herb, and thus one would think that ''mansa'' is also from Spanish as well, but all indications point to the fact that it is not. ''Mansa'' means tame, peaceful, calm in Spanish, and the plant has no sedative effect, nor did local people ever use it as a calming agent. Its primary use is as an

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals a ...

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...

, and

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as cryp ...

. The most likely explanation is that mansa is a Spanish alteration of the original native word for the plant, now lost in the depths of time." Hartweg, who collected it at León, Guanajuato in 1837, recorded the local name as '. It is also known as ''yerba del manso'' in northern Baja California. The word "manso" could be short for "remanso" (backwater) which would agree with the areas where the plant thrives.

Uses

Medicinal

Yerba mansa is used as an

, an

, and to treat vaginal candidiasis.''Anemopsis californica'' - Plants For A Future database report
retrieved on July 17, 2007 Yerba mansa is used to treat inflammation of the mucous membranes, swollen gums and sore throat. An infusion of roots can be taken as a diuretic to treat

rheumatic Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

diseases like

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensi ...

by ridding the body of excess

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the metabolic breakdown o ...

, which causes painful inflammation of the joints. Yerba mansa prevents the buildup of

crystals in the

kidneys The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

which could cause kidney stones if left untreated. A powder of dried root can be sprinkled on infected areas to alleviate

athlete's foot Athlete's foot, known medically as ''tinea pedis'', is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus m ...

or diaper rash. Yerba mansa is versatile, it can be taken orally as a

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and norther ...

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

, infusion or dried in capsule form. It can be used externally for soaking inflamed or infected areas. It can be ground and used as a dusting powder. Some people in Las Cruces, New Mexico use the leaves to make a

poultice A poultice, also called a cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth and placed over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds, such as cuts. 'Poultice ...

to relieve muscle swelling and inflammation. The leaves and roots have also been used to heal and disinfect wounds and sores.

Crafts

* Dried floral structures are used in dried arrangements.Soule, J. A. 2011. Father Kino's Herbs: Growing and Using Them Today. Tierra del Sol Press, Tucson, AZ. * Dried plant parts (leaves, floral structure) emit a spicy fragrance and are used in potpourri.

Horticulture

* In the deserts of California, yerba mansa is being used as

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

in public parks and

ground cover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as ...

in gardens.Bakker, Elna. "Yerba Mansa as Ground Cover." Pacific Horticulture 49 (4): 47-49. Pacific Horticultural Foundation, San Francisco, CA, 1988.

References

External links

* *
Plants For A Future databaseJepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileMedicinal Uses and Harvesting
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4761678 Piperales genera Monotypic magnoliid genera Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Arizona Flora of Texas Flora of Colorado Flora of Utah Flora of Kansas Flora of Oklahoma Flora of Baja California Flora of Sonora Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of the California desert regions Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Saururaceae Flora without expected TNC conservation status