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Common Name: Prince's Plume

General Information

Stanleya pinnata is a perennial plant that can grow up to 1.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

South-western N. America - California.

Habitat

Seleniferous soils, desert slopes and washes to 1500 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a perfectly drained soil in full sun[]. Grows well in an ordinary garden soil[]. Prefers a poor dry soil[].
Hardy to about -20°c[].
Grows well at Kew in a warm sunny well-drained border[].
There is some confusion over the correct name of this plant, 2 different spellings having been used. Whilst it is possible that these are 2 different plants, it is more likely that the name used at the top of this form is the correct one, whilst the name in the synonyms list is a mis-spelling[, ].
The plant is often found growing in soils rich in selenium and is a fairly good indicator that selenium is present[].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked. It is used as a piñole[, ]. The seed can be parched, ground into a powder and used as a mush[].
Young leaves and stems - cooked[, , , ]. A cabbage-like flavour, they can be quite bitter at first but changing the water once or more whilst cooking removes the bitterness[, ]. Used in the spring[]. Changing the water also removes many of the vitamins and minerals[].

Medicinal

A decoction of the root has been used as a tonic to treat general debility after an illness[]. The pulped root can be placed on the gum or in a tooth cavity in order to relieve toothache[, ]. It can also be applied externally as a poultice to relieve earache and rheumatic pain[, ]. A poultice of the mashed root has been applied to the throat to treat throat pain and is also used to treat the congestion of diphtheria[].
A poultice of the plant has been applied to glandular swellings[]. The powdered plant has been applied as a specific to scraped syphilitic sores[].
A poultice of the freshly chewed seedpods has been used to treat itches[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. Germination should take place within 3 weeks. Pot up into individual pots as soon as the plants are big enough to handle in order to preserve the root system. Plant out in summer.
Division in spring?