Cycloloma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Chenopodioideae
Tribe: Dysphanieae
Genus: Cycloloma
Moq.
Species:
C. atriplicifolium
Binomial name
Cycloloma atriplicifolium
Synonyms
  • Salsola atriplicifolia Spreng.
  • Kochia atriplicifolia (Spreng.) Roth

Cycloloma is a monotypic genus which contains the sole species Cycloloma atriplicifolium, which is known by the common names winged pigweed, tumble ringwing, plains tumbleweed,[1] and tumble-weed.[2] This plant is native to central North America, but it is spreading and has been occasionally reported in far-flung areas from California to Maine to the Canadian prairie. It is considered an introduced species outside of central North America. This is a bushy annual herb forming a rounded pale green clump which may exceed 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) in height. It is very intricately branched, with toothed leaves occurring near the base. The spreading stems bear widely spaced flowers are small immature fruits fringed with a nearly transparent membranous wing. In autumn, the plant forms a tumbleweed.[3] The fruit is a utricle about 2 millimeters long containing a single seed.

Uses

The seeds are eaten as a food staple by Native American peoples including the Zuni and Hopi. The Zuni people mix the seeds with ground corn to make a mush.[4] The Zuni also grind the seeds, mix them with corn meal and make them into steamed cakes.[5] The Zuni also chew the blossoms and rub them all over the hands for protection.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ Nathaniel Lord Britton, Addison Brown (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions: From Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian. Vol. 2. C. Scribner's sons. page 16
  3. ↑ Louis Hermann Pammel (1903). Some Weeds of Iowa. Experiment Station, Iowa State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. page 455
  4. ↑ Castetter, Edward F. 1935 Ethnobiological Studies in the American Southwest I. Uncultivated Native Plants Used as Sources of Food. University of New Mexico Bulletin 4(1):1-44 (p. 22)
  5. ↑ Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 p.67
  6. ↑ Stevenson, p.84
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