Trichostema lanceolatum
Encyclopedia
The annual herb of the mint family
Trichostema lanceolatum is commonly known as vinegar weed because its foliage contains volatile oils that have a strong vinegar
odor. Other common names for the plant include terpentine weed and camphor weed. The oils also have phytotoxic
properties, which help vinegar weed compete by killing or injuring other plant species.
Vinegar weed is a wildflower bearing striking purple-blue flowers on short green stems. The numerous leaves are juicy and green and are covered in fluffy hairs. The plant is well adapted to its native range in California
, where it thrives in dry, nutrient-poor, sun-baked clay soil. In hot weather the vinegar smell of the plant becomes intense as the oils in the tissues permeate the air.
The plants of this genus are sometimes called blue curls, but this name may be more associated with the similar, but sweeter smelling, species Trichostema lanatum
. Vinegar weed is found on the west coast of North America
from Washington to Baja California
.
repellent.
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
Trichostema lanceolatum is commonly known as vinegar weed because its foliage contains volatile oils that have a strong vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
odor. Other common names for the plant include terpentine weed and camphor weed. The oils also have phytotoxic
Phytotoxin
Phytotoxin refers to a substance produced by a plant that is toxic or a substance that is toxic to the plant Many substances produced by plants are secondary metabolites and are the by-products of primary physiological processes...
properties, which help vinegar weed compete by killing or injuring other plant species.
Vinegar weed is a wildflower bearing striking purple-blue flowers on short green stems. The numerous leaves are juicy and green and are covered in fluffy hairs. The plant is well adapted to its native range in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it thrives in dry, nutrient-poor, sun-baked clay soil. In hot weather the vinegar smell of the plant becomes intense as the oils in the tissues permeate the air.
The plants of this genus are sometimes called blue curls, but this name may be more associated with the similar, but sweeter smelling, species Trichostema lanatum
Trichostema lanatum
Trichostema lanatum is a small evergreen shrub or sub-shrub native to arid coastal chaparral regions of California and the northern parts of Baja California....
. Vinegar weed is found on the west coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from Washington to Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
.
Traditional Native American medical plant
Indians of northern California used the plant as a cold and fever remedy, a pain reliever, and a fleaFlea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
repellent.