Anemopsis californica (yerba mansa) is a perennial herb in the lizard's tail family (Saururaceae) and prefers wet soil or shallow water. It is commonly found in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. Its white flowers bloom in the spring and it turns bright red in the fall.
The yerba mansa plant has a flower with a narrow and tall stem that’s taller than its leaves, making the flower much more noticeable. It has wide ovule leaves whose size varies from small to large underneath the flower and hidden in the grass. The yerba mansa’s flower petals (actually bracts) are white. The flower is solitary though it is seen grouped together with other yerba mansas. The stamen is wider than the stem and larger than the petals. The stamen also consists of tiny petals all around, resembling a dome. Sometimes the yerba mansa doesn’t have flowers and just has short leaves.
Yerba mansa is located in parts of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and California. Within its range, it may be seen on dry ground but is considered a wetland obligate and grows better in wet and flooded areas which is why they’re sometimes located around the river banks and near springs. The plant’s roots impacts the wet areas it’s in by changing the soil chemistry of the ground, purifying and making it ant-microbial. This allows other plants to grow in wet areas, stabilizing and airing out the soil.
In landscaping, it’s used as a deer resistant species, planted in bogs, ponds, and as ground cover in lawns and gardens. The roots and rhizome of this herb are used to treat and disinfect wounds and sores, for colds, coughs and to cure ulcers since it’s anti-bacterial. Yerba mansa is a well known medical plant in the Southwest used for treating many different problems. As a medicine, it can be consumed in tea, extract, infusion, powder, dry capsule, and poultice (mashed leaves that is put over the skin and covered by cloth) form. You can smell the plant’s oil when you press your fingers into the soil near the yerba mansa plant. This plant can also prevent uric acid crystals from building up and causing kidney stones. In powdered form, it can be sprinkled onto the skin to reduce itchiness of athlete’s foot and diaper rash.
“Anemopsis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemopsis.
Plant Guide: Yerba mansa, plants usda.org, pdf,
https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_anca10.pdf
Plant database: Yerba mansa, wildflower.org, 17 Nov 2015, TWC staff
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=anca10
“Yerba Mansa – Anemopsis californica.” United Plant Savers, unitedplantsavers.org/yerba-mansa-anemopsis-californica/.
“Anemopsis californica (yerba mansa) Monograph” Journal of the American Herbalists Guild, spring 2020, https://yerbamansaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Anemopsis-californica-monograph.pdf.
Student author(s)*: Nevissa (age 17) from Menaul School
*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting. https://yerbamansaproject.org/
Uses | medicinal |
---|---|
Flower | white |
Type | herbaceous |
Habitat | wet |