''Eriodictyon californicum'' is a species of plant within the family

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...

. It is also known as yerba santa (sacred herb), mountain balm, bear's weed, gum bush, gum plant, and consumptive weed.Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz.
Yerba Santa ''Eriodictyon californicum''
Flower Essence Society. Less common names include Herbe des Montagnes, Herbe à Ourse, Herbe Sacrée, Herbe Sainte, Hierba Santa, Holy Herb, and Tarweed.

Description

''Eriodictyon californicum'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

aromatic

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

with woody

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s, typically found in clonal stands growing to a height of . The dark green, leathery leaves are narrow, oblong to lanceolate, and up to in length. Foliage and twigs are covered with shiny

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

and are often dusted with black

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, ''Heterosporium californicum''. It is similar to its Southern California sibling ''E. crassofolium''. The shrub is known to be an occasional source of nutrition for wildlife and livestock.Forest Service Fire Ecology
/ref> Their bitterness makes them unpalatable to most animals, although it does have multiple insect herbivores, including butterflies.Murphy, Dennis D., Marian S. Menninger, and Paul R. Ehrlich. "Nectar Source Distribution as a Determinant of Oviposition Host Species in Euphydryas Chalcedona." Oecologia 62.2 (1984): 269-71. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a cluster of bell-shaped white to purplish flowers, each between one and two centimeters in length.

Taxonomy

When first described, it was placed in genus ''

Wigandia ''Wigandia'' is a genus of flowering plants within the waterleaf subfamily, Hydrophylloideae. They are found mainly in Central America and South America, though one or two species are found as far north as the United States. Some are grown as ...

'', so its

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both botan ...

is ''Wigandia californica''.

Distribution

It is native to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, where it grows in several types of

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, including

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

and coast redwood forests.

Ecology

''E. californicum'' is a specific food and

plant for the butterfly ''

Papilio eurymedon ''Papilio eurymedon'', the pale swallowtail or pallid swallowtail, is a relatively common swallowtail butterfly found throughout much of the western North America. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1852. It is found on the P ...

''. It is the primary nectar source for variable checkerspot butterflies in the

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve The Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is a nature preserve and biological field station formally established as a reserve in 1973. The biological preserve is owned by Stanford University, and is part of the Stanford School of Humanities and Scie ...

in California.

Uses

Eriodictyol Eriodictyol is a bitter-masking flavanone, a flavonoid extracted from yerba santa ('' Eriodictyon californicum''), a plant native to North America. Eriodictyol is one of the four flavanones identified in this plant as having taste-modifying prop ...

is one of the 4 flavanones identified in this plant by the

Symrise Symrise AG is a German chemicals company that is a major producer of flavours and fragrances with sales of €4.999 billion i2024 Major competitors include Givaudan, Takasago International Corporation, International Flavors and Fragrances and ...

Corporation as having taste-modifying properties, the other three being:

homoeriodictyol Homoeriodictyol is a bitter-masking flavanone extracted from Yerba Santa ('' Eriodictyon californicum'') a plant growing in America. Homoeriodictyol (3`-methoxy-4`,5,7-trihydroxyflavanone) is one of the 4 flavanones identified by Symrise in thi ...

, its sodium salt and

sterubin Sterubin (7-methoxy-3',4',5-trihydroxyflavanone) is a bitter-masking flavanone extracted from Yerba Santa ('' Eriodictyon californicum'') a plant growing in America. Sterubin is one of the four flavanones identified by Symrise in this plant whi ...

. These compounds have potential uses in food and pharmaceutical industry to mask bitter taste. This species of shrub is used for revegetating damaged or disturbed lands, such as overgrazed rangeland. It is strongly fire-adapted, sprouting from

s after

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

and developing a waxy film of flammable resins on its foliage.

Traditional medicine

The leaves have historically been used to treat

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

, upper respiratory infections and

allergic rhinitis Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a type I hypersensitivity reaction. Signs a ...

. The Concow tribe calls the plant wä-sä-got’-ō (

Konkow language The Konkow language, also known as Northwest Maidu (also ''Concow-Maidu'', or ' in the language itself) is a part of the Maiduan language group. It is spoken in California. It is severely endangered, with three remaining elders who learned to ...

). The

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, Indigenous languages of California See also

* Pentateuch (dis ...

used it as a

poultice A poultice or cataplasm, also called a fomentation, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is applied to the skin to reduce inflammation, soothe pain, promote healing, or otherwise treat wounds or ailments. Soft materials like cer ...

for wounds, insect bites, broken bones, and sores. It was also used in a steam bath to treat

hemorrhoids Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...

Medical research

The

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

is the main active component of Yerba santa and is neuroprotective against multiple toxicities of the aging brain, including possibly

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Eriodictyon californicum''

USDA Plants Profile: ''Eriodictyon californicum''

''Eriodictyon californicum'' Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3056647 californicum Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Plants described in 1839 Butterfly food plants Taxa named by George Arnott Walker Arnott Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker