Shrubbery


CLIFFROSE
Purshia mexicana


CLIFFROSE
Purshia mexicana

This shrub can become very large with a water supply. The flowers are sweet-smelling. It needs another plant in close proximity to pollinate. A wide assortment of bees and flies are attracted to these sweet smells and the nectar the flowers produce.
The shredded bark was used by Navajos for padding cradleboards. "Female"
prayersticks are made from Cliffrose wood, while "male" prayersticks are
made from mountain mahogany shrubs.

The Hopi made a tea from the leaves and twigs to induce vomiting, and as
a healing agent for sores and wounds. Early inhabitants of the Four Corners region
also used the shredded bark of Cliffrose to make mats and clothing; when added to
yucca fibers they made cordage.

Some early settlers called the plant "quinine bush" after the bitter taste of the leaves. Deer and desert Bighorns forage on the plants and small rodents eat the seeds.
A yellow brown or tan dye can be made from the leaves and stems, when mixed with pounded juniper branches.