Blepharipappus is a monotypic North American plant genus in the family Asteraceae (order Asterales), containing a single known species, Blepharipappus scaber, commonly called rough eyelash or rough eyelashweed. The genus is endemic to the northwestern United States, where it occurs across Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and northern California, growing in sandy soils in forests and in the western reaches of the sagebrush steppe at elevations between 300 and 2,200 metres.
Blepharipappus scaber is a small, inconspicuous annual herb that raises slender, fuzzy stems bearing alternate leaves. Each stem terminates in one to several daisy-like flower heads comprising 3–8 three-lobed ray florets that are white with purple markings, surrounding a central disc packed with approximately ten white florets bearing purple anthers. The fruit is a dark achene that frequently bears a pappus of a few stiff, pale bristles closely resembling human eyelashes — the feature that gives both the genus and the common name their meaning. The species is superficially similar to Layia glandulosa but is distinguished by its white (rather than yellow) disc florets.
Plateau Indian peoples of the region used the plant medicinally as part of treatments for bloody diarrhea.
Etymology
The name Blepharipappus combines the Greek blepharis (“eyelash”) with pappus, referring to the feathery or bristle-like appendages on the seeds of many composites. Together they describe the stiff, pale bristles of the achene that closely resemble human eyelashes — the same trait behind the plant’s common name, rough eyelash.
Distribution
Blepharipappus scaber is native to the northwestern United States, with confirmed occurrence in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and northern California. It grows in sandy soils within coniferous forests and the western sagebrush steppe at elevations of 300–2,200 metres (980–7,220 ft).
Ecology
An annual herb of open, sandy habitats, Blepharipappus scaber occupies two distinct vegetation types — montane forest openings and the western sagebrush steppe — across its range in the northwestern United States. Its daisy-like flower heads are visited by pollinators typical of arid western landscapes. The species is morphologically similar to Layia glandulosa, from which it differs most readily by its white rather than yellow disc florets.
Cultural Uses
Some Plateau Indian peoples of the northwestern United States used Blepharipappus scaber medicinally, incorporating it as a component of treatments for bloody diarrhea.
