Acourtia wrightii, Brownfoot, Southwest Desert Flora

Acourtia wrightii, Brownfoot

Brownfoot has pink, purple, lavender or white showy, fragrant clustered flower heads. Plants bloom from June to November or later. Acourtia wrightii

Brownfoot has 8 to 12 florets per head in contrast with A. thurberi which has 3 to 6 florets per head. Note in photo the linear to lanceolate bracts or phyllaries in 2 to 3 series. Acourtia wrightii

Brownfoot grows erect and has multiple stems. The 1 to 5 inch leaves turn brown at the base of “foot” and thus the common name “Brownfoot”. Leaves are green, alternate and sessile with variable shapes ranging from oblong-lanceolate to elliptic-oblong. Acourtia wrightii

Brownfoot is a perennial species that grows up to 2 feet or more tall. Plants prefer elevations from 1,200 to 5,000 feet or higher. They are found in both upper and lower deserts, foothills, rocky hillsides, canyons in gravel, caliche or Sandy loamy soils. Acourtia wrightii

Scientific Name: Acourtia wrightii
Common Name: Brownfoot

Also Called: Pink Perezia, Wright’s Desertpeony

Family: Asteraceae, Sunflower Family

Synonyms: (Perezia wrightii, Perezia arizonica)

Status: Native

Duration: Perennial

Size: 1 to 3 feet (30-90 cm).

Growth Form: Forb/herb; more or less upright (erect), multiple stems; leaves turn brown at base or "foot" of plant thus the common name "Brownfoot".

Leaves: Green; leaves arranged alternately along the stems; leaves without stalks (sessile); leaf shape variable; bases of leaves are shaped like the head of an arrow (sagittate) or partially or completely surrounding the stem (clasping); leaf edges or margins toothed.

Flower Color: Pink or purple; heads fragrant, flower heads in dense clusters; there are 8 to 12 florets per head, in contrast to Acourtia thurberi which has 3 to 6 florets per head; the fruit is a cypsela with a pappus of bright white hairs.

Flowering Season: June to November or later; March to November in Texas.

Elevation: 1,200 to 5,000 feet (400-1,500 m) or higher.

Habitat Preferences: Upper and lower Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts, foothills, rocky hillsides, ravines, canyons; gravel, caliche or sandy loamy soils; prairies, plains, meadows, pastures, savannas and woodlands edges and canyons in Texas.

Recorded Range: Brownfoot is found in the southwestern United States in AZ, NM, NV, TX, UT. It is also native to northern and central Mexico in (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Zacatecas).

U.S. Weed Information: Unknown
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: Unknown
Wetland Indicator: Unknown
Threatened/Endangered Information: Unknown

North America & US County Distribution Map for Acourtia wrightii.

North America species range map for Wright's Desertpeony, Acourtia wrightii:
North American range map courtesy of Virginia Tech, Dept. of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation

Click image for full size map

Genus Information: In North America there are 5 species and 5 accepted taxa overall for Acourtia. World wide, The Plant List includes 84 accepted species names and includes a further 30 of infraspecific rank for the genus.

The genus Acourtia was published in 1830 by David Don.

In the Southwestern United States: Arizona and Nevada each have 5 species of genus, California has 13 species, New Mexico has 7 species, Texas has 4 species, Utah has 6 species. Data approximate, subject to revision.

Comments: The common name, Brownfoot is so called because of the brown color of leaves and dense hairs at the foot of the plant. Although native in both the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, Brownfoot is more of an eastern distributed Chihuahuan Desert species.

According to Arizona Flora, the roots of this plant and also those of Dwarf Desertpeony, Acourtia nana yield an acid (pipitzahoic) "which may be used in chemical analysis as an indicator of soil alkalinity"

The very similar looking Thurber Desert Holly, Acourtia thurberi, differs from Brownfoot with having only 3 to 6 flowers per head, while Brownfoot has 8 or more. A third Acourtia species native to Arizona, the smallest of the 3, Dwarf Desertpeony, Acourtia nana, grows to 6 or 10 inches (15-25 cm) high.

Importance to Wildlife, Birds and Livestock Seeds of Wright's Desertpeony, Acourtia wrightii may likely be eaten by birds and small mammals.

Special Value to Native bees, Butterflies and Insects Wright's Desertpeony, Acourtia wrightii flowers may be visited by butterflies, bees and other small insects.

Etymology: The genus Acourtia was named in the 18th century in honor of amateur botanist Mary Elizabeth Catherine Gibbes A'Court (1792-1878).

The specific epithet, wrightii (wright'ii:) is named to honor Charles Wright, (1811-1885).

Ethnobotany Brownfoot has been used as a postpartum medicine, a styptic and as a poultice by southwestern United States indigenous peoples.

Hualapai Drug, Dermatological Aid; Poultice of wooly 'cotton' applied to open, bleeding wounds.

Navajo, Kayenta Drug, Gynecological Aid; Plant used for difficult labor, a postpartum medicine.

Pima Drug, Hemostat; Plant used as a styptic.

See complete listing of ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.