Wright'S Yellowshow

Description

Amoreuxia is a genus of flowering plants in the achiote family, Bixaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Cochlospermaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as yellowshow.They are native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, Curaçao, and the southwestern United States. Yellow show is an unusual plant, a perennial herb that grows from a large tuberous root. This is one of those mystery plants that may well have been used as a food source by the native peoples in the Lower Pecos area. Although we have not yet recovered direct evidence from the region, elsewhere in western North America many Indian groups consumed closely related plant species. Hodgson (2001:91) has summarized the utility of two closely related Sonoran Desert species, A. gonzalezii and A. palmatifida. Wright yellow show is a medium-sized herbaceous plant growing to about 18-inches with 1-1/2-inch palmately-lobed leaves on long petioles (stalks). The flower is larger, measuring about 1-3/4-inch, yellow, with a purple blotch at the base. The stamens are long and tipped with purple. The plants growing in the Comstock/Langtry area are much smaller than those described by Correll and Johnston (1970), but competition from invasive species like bufflegrass is a problem in the area. Yellow show growing in the upper reaches of the Rio Grande arm of Amistad Reservoir appears to bloom semi-annually, possibly connected to the periodicity of rainfall. The tuberous root stock from which the above-ground (flowering) part of the plant emerges would allow long dormant periods. See Cheatham et al. (1995) for additional discussion of the uses and distribution of yellow show in Texas.