Kingdom Plantae Family Asteraceae Scientific name Helichrysum luteoalbum | Order Asterales Genus Helichrysum Rank Species | |
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Similar Pseudognaphalium, Gnaphalium, Laphangium, Juncus rigidus, Urospermum picroides | ||
Helichrysum luteoalbum, commonly known as Jersey Cudweed or Weedy Cudweed, is a cosmopolitan weed.
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Description
It grows as an erect herb up to 70 centimetres high, branching from the base. Flowers are cream, yellow, white, or pink.
Taxonomy
This species was first published by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 Species plantarum, under the name Gnaphalium luteo-album (the orthography was later changed to omit the hyphen). In 1829, Ludwig Reichenbach transferred it to Helichrysum, but this name was not taken up, and the species was retained in Gnaphalium until 1981, when Olive Mary Hilliard and Brian Laurence Burtt transferred it into Pseudognaphalium.
In 2004, an investigation into the phylogenetic relationships of Helichrysum and related genera found this species to have arisen within Helichrysum. As a result of this, Reichenbach's long-forgotten name for this species was resurrected. A later study showed that all the sampled Pseudognaphalium species arose within Helichrysum as did Anaphalis.
Distribution and habitat
This species is so widely distributed that it is unclear where it is native and where naturalised. In general it is considered naturalised in North and South America, and native to every other continent except Antarctica.
Uses
In Vietnam, the plant is consumed used a food ingredient, such as in the rice cake banh khuc. It has also been used in traditional medicine of the region, as a diuretic, hemostatic, antipyretic, for the treatment of cough, and for pain relief.
