Parthenium

For the mountain of Greece, see Mount Parthenium. For the town of ancient Mysia, see Parthenium (Mysia).

Parthenium is a genus of North American annuals, biennials, perennials, subshrubs, and shrubs in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae and subfamily Asteroideae.^[4][2][3][5]

Parthenium
Parthenium hysterophorus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Asteroideae
Tribe:	Heliantheae
Subtribe:	Ambrosiinae
Genus:	Parthenium L.
Type species
Parthenium hysterophorus[1][2] L.
Synonyms[3]
Argyrochaeta Cav. Bolophyta Nutt. Echetrosis Phil. Hysterophorus Vaill. Partheniastrum Fabr. Villanova Ortega

The name Parthenium is an evolution of the Ancient Greek name παρθένιον (parthenion), which referred to Tanacetum parthenium.^[6][7][8] The name is possibly derived from the Greek word παρθένος (parthenos) which means "virgin".^[5]

Members of the genus are commonly known as feverfew.^[9] Notable species include guayule (P. argentatum) which has been used as a rubber substitute, especially during the Second World War;^[10] and also P. hysterophorus, a serious invasive species in the Old World.^[11]

Species

These include:^[3]

• Parthenium alpinum (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray – Arkansas River feverfew - NM CO WY
• Parthenium argentatum A.Gray – Guayule - TX, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas
• Parthenium cineraceum Rollins - Bolivia, Paraguay
• Parthenium confertum A.Gray – Gray's feverfew - AZ NM TX Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Tamaulipas
• Parthenium fruticosum Less. - from Tamaulipas to Chiapas
• Parthenium hysterophorus L. – Santa Maria feverfew, whitetop weed - widespread in North + South America; as an invasive species in India, Australia, and Africa
• Parthenium incanum Kunth – mariola - NV UT AZ NM TX Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas
• Parthenium integrifolium L. – American feverfew, wild quinine - from TX to MA + MN
• Parthenium ligulatum (M.E. Jones) Barneby – Colorado feverfew - CO UT
• Parthenium rollinsianum Rzed. - San Luis Potosí
• Parthenium schottii Greenm. ex Millsp. & Chase - Yucatán
• Parthenium tomentosum DC. - Oaxaca, Puebla

Importance

In North America, the Jicarilla Apache people used Parthenium incanum for medicine (Opler 1946: 8). The sap of guayule (P. argentatum) is a source of natural rubber.^[12] Parthenium hysterophorus is a common invasive species in India, Australia, and parts of Africa. Its pollen can cause allergies and the sap is toxic.

Gallery

• 
  Parthenium argentatum
• 
• 
  Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)

Parthenium hysterophorus in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

References

1. lectotype designated by N.L. Britton & A. Brown, Ill. fl. n. U.S., ed. 2. 3: 464 (1913)
2. "Parthenium". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
3. Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-12-27 at archive.today
4. Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 988 in Latin
5. Strother, John L. "Parthenium". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2011-08-09 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
6. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940). "παρθένιον". A Greek-English Lexicon. Clarendon Press. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03 – via the Perseus Project.
7. Dioscorides, Pedanius (2000). Materia Medica. Johannesburg, South Africa: Ibidis Press. p. 556.
8. Dioscorides, Pedanius (1829). Sprengel, Curtius (ed.). De Materia Medica. Leipzig. p. 484.
9. "Parthenium". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
10. Ray, D.T. 1993. Guayule: A source of natural rubber. p. 338-343. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), New crops. Wiley, New York.
11. "Parthenium hysterophorus (herb)". Global Invasive Species Database. Invasive Species Specialist Group. 2010-10-04. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
12. Ray, Dennis T. (1993). J. Janick; J.E. Simon (eds.). "Guayule: A source of natural rubber". New Crops. New York: Wiley: 338–343.

• Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L.; Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 0-89672-614-2
• Opler, Morris E. (1946). Childhood and youth in Jicarilla Apache society. Publications of the Frederick Webb Hodge Anniversary Fund (Vol. 5). Los Angeles: The Southwest Museum Administrator of the Fund.

Further information

• Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Invasive Species Compendium (2019-02-26). Parthenium in Malaysia. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
• Media related to Parthenium at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Parthenium at Wikispecies