Purshia mexicana

Purshia mexicana is a species of perennial flowering small tree in the rose family known by the common name Mexican cliffrose. It is native to western-northern Mexico, the region of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera.

Purshia mexicana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Purshia
Species:	P. mexicana
Binomial name
Purshia mexicana (D.Don) S.L.Welsh
Synonyms[1]
Cowania mexicana D.Don

Purshia stansburyana, native to the southwestern United States, has sometimes been included within P. mexicana.^[2]

In its mostly mountainous, or higher elevation habitat, it grows in woodlands, desert, and plateau habitat.

Stenophyllanin A, a tannin, can be found in P. mexicana.^[3]

Distribution

The range of Mexican cliffrose is from the western Mexican Plateau in the south, and the southern Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera north to a small region of northwest Sonora;^[2] it has a continuous range in the cordillera from Chihuahua south through Durango and Zacatecas, all mostly north of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, though a few scattered locales do occur in the belt.^[2]

Uses

The plant is browsed by deer, cattle, and sheep, and is particularly important to these species during the winter.^[4]

Native Americans made ropes and clothing from the bark, and fashioned arrow shafts from the stems.^[4]