Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby, Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 15 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Gutierrezia diversifolia Greene; Solidago sarothrae Pursh; Xanthocephalum sarothrae (Pursh) Shinners

Common name(s): [more details]

English: broom snakeweed, broomweed, kindlingweed, matchbrush, matchweed, perennial snakeweed, snakeweed, stinkweed, turpentine weed, yellow top

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Subshrubs, 10-60 (-100) cm. Stems minutely hispidulous. Leaves: basal and proximal absent at flowering; cauline blades 1- or 3-nerved, linear to lanceolate, sometimes filiform and fascicled, 1.5-2 (-3) mm wide, little reduced distally. Heads (sessile to subsessile in compact glomerules) in dense, flat-topped, corymbiform arrays. Involucres cylindric to cuneate-campanulate, 1.5-2 (-3) mm in diameter. Phyllary apices flat. Ray florets (2-) 3-8; corollas yellow, 3-5.5 mm. Disc florets (2-) 3-9 (usually bisexual and fertile, rarely functionally staminate, corollas tubular-funnelform, lobes erect to spreading or recurved, deltate). Cypselae 0.8-1.6 (-2.2) mm, faces without oil cavities, densely strigoso-sericeous; pappi of 1-2 series of narrowly oblong- to ovate-lanceolate or obovate scales (readily falling, those of discs 1/3-1/2 corollas, shorter on rays)"  (Flora of North America online).

Habitat/ecology:  In North America, "grasslands, commonly on rocky, open slopes; 50-2900 m"  (Flora of North America online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  North America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Control: 

Physical:  Abstract and access to journal article:  "Cattle Grazing as a Biological Control for Broom Snakeweed: Vegetation Response".

Chemical:  Control information from the Pacific Northwest Weed Handbook.

Abstract "Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) control with picloram and metsulfuron": "Picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridine-carboxylic acid) and metsulfuron {2-[[[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino]carbonyl]amino]sulfonyl]benzoic acid} were applied to broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae [Pursh.] Britt. and Rusby # GUESA) on two spring dates and three fall dates from October 1983 to 1985. Applications of picloram and metsulfuron in the fall more effectively controlled broom snakeweed than applications in the spring. Lower herbicide rates were necessary for 90% or greater control on a sandy loam than on a silty clay loam. Grass yield increased significantly the first, second, and third growing seasons when a majority of the broom snakeweed were killed by either herbicide, but was not different from untreated rangeland when less than 50% of the plants were killed. Reduction in broom snakeweed densities of 90% or greater following applications of picloram or metsulfuron resulted in 3- to 5-fold increases in the estimated carrying capacity of rangeland in east-central New Mexico".

Additional information:
Plant Guide from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Fact sheet from the U.S. Forest Service (PDF format).
Abstract and access to article:  "Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae): Toxicology, Ecology, Control, and Management".
Information from the U.S. Forest Service Fire Effects Information System.
Information from Utah State University.
Information from the University of Texas.

Additional online information about Gutierrezia sarothrae is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Gutierrezia sarothrae as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Gutierrezia sarothrae may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2011. Flora of North America North of Mexico (online edition).

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.