Odora
Porophyllum gracile
Family: Asteraceae
Fragrant broom-like shrub growing up to about 2’ tall and wide. You may have not seen it hiking, but smelled it—some like the smell others don’t (it is a smell that seems related to cilantro, but way more intense). Blooms almost year round with nectar-rich flowers. Glands located in cavities in the leaves, stems and phyllaries produce several volatile chemicals that act in synergy to repel insect predators but that moth and butterfly larvae employ.
Plant in full to part sun, provide good drainage, moderate water. Hardy to about 10-15°F.
Photo by Max Licher, SEINET
Porophyllum gracile on iNaturalist
Birds eat the seeds. Larval host for several species of owlet moths (family Noctuidae) and the dainty sulfur butterfly (Nathalis iole).
The Seri call this species xtisil and use a tea made from the stems as a remedy for colds and to aid in difficult childbirth. The roots are macerated and used to treat toothache. In some Mexican markets fresh and dried material is available for sale as a medicinal. It is commonly called "hierba del venado." These uses may have scientific validity as many members of the Tageteae tribe contain thiophenes which have proven bactericidal properties.
Porophyllum is a genus of about 32 species native to the Americas. The genus name, Porophyllum, is from Greek poros, a passage or pore, and phyllon, leaf, a reference to the translucent glands on the leaf, while the species name, gracile, means slender, or graceful.
Found on rocky slopes, outwash fans, in canyons and arroyos; below 4,000 ft. in southern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and southwestern Texas; continuing into central Mexico, especially common in Baja California.