''Parthenium incanum'', with the common names mariola and New Mexico rubber plant, is a plant in the genus ''

Parthenium ''Parthenium'' is a genus of North American shrubs in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae and subfamily Asteroideae. The name ''Parthenium'' is an evolution of the Ancient Greek name παρθένιον (''parthenion''), which ref ...

'' of 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 ...

. The plant is native to North America, from the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

through Northern, Central, and Southwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Habitats include desert grasslands including in the

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...

, on dry gravel slopes, and on plains.

Description

''Parthenium incanum'' grows from in height and width. Its foliage is a pubescent grayish-white. Small white flower clusters appear from July to October. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network (NPIN): ''Parthenium incanum'' (mariola)
/ref>

Uses

Medicinal

The

Jicarilla Apache Jicarilla Apache (, Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athab ...

used mariola as a traditional medicinal plant. It was prepared by boiling the plant's leaves, and the solution was then was rubbed over a pregnant woman's abdomen to relieve discomfort.

Cultivation

''Parthenium incanum'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

, for use in drought tolerant,

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

, and

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, rep ...

s.Aggie-horticulture.edu—Texas Native Plants Database: Mariola (''Parthenium incanum'')
/ref>

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Parthenium incanum'' (mariola)
incanum Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Mexico Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Plant dyes {{Heliantheae-stub