Erigeron canadensis
L.
Canadian Fleabane, Butterweed
(c) Scott Morris, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Scott Morris
(c) El Picaro Azul, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by El Picaro Azul
(c) Zihao Wang, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Zihao Wang
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
The young seedlings are boiled and eaten, often cooked with rice, and can be dried for later use. The ground leaves are used to flavor porridge, and an essential oil from the plant is used to flavor soft drinks.
Where to Find It
It grows in warm temperate places. It can tolerate drought and frost. It does best in a light to medium soil and an open, sunny position. It grows best in damp soils and high rainfall areas. It can grow in arid places. Tasmania Herbarium. In Yunnan. In China it grows from sea level to 3,000 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Britain, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Canary Islands, Caucasus, Central America, Central Asia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Europe, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, French Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indochina, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Is., North America*, Northeastern India, Norway, Pacific, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Romania, Russia, SE Asia, Siberia, Sinai, Slovenia, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Tibet, Trinidad-Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Indies*, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
An annual herb. It grows to 1 m tall and spreads to 50 cm across. The stem is erect, hairy and unbranched. The leaves are one after another along the stem and are entire. The lower leaves have leaf stalks and may have teeth around the edge. The leaves are thin and narrow. They are 5 cm long. The flowers are green or pale purple. They occur in clusters at the end of the plant. The bracts around the flower heads are free of hairs. The fruit are downy.
How to Grow
Plants are grown from seed.
Medicinal Uses
The Zuni people insert the crushed flowers of E. canadensis var. canadensis into the nostrils to cause sneezing, relieving rhinitis. The Seminole people used it for cold and cough medicine, the Iroquois people used it to help combat fevers, and the Navajo and Chippewa peoples used it for stomach pain. Other medicinal applications include use as a nervine, stimulant, and antiplasmodic.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Erigeron canadensis (synonym Conyza canadensis) is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. It is also widely naturalized in Eurasia and Australia. Common names include horseweed, Canadian horseweed, Canadian fleabane, coltstail, marestail, and butterweed. It was the first weed to have developed glyphosate resistance, reported in 2001 from Delaware.
Notes
There are about 50 Conyza species. A tea from the leaves have been used for medicine.
Names & Synonyms
Guangguangcao, Hime-mukashi-yomogi, Horse balm, Horseweed, Ingkobong, Kanadska hudoletnica, Khbos shubla, Mangch'o, Mangcho
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