Lycianthes moziniana (Dunal) Bitter

A Revision of Lycianthes series Meizonodontae
(UC) UC Berkeley/ (XAL) Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa
Lycianthes moziniana (Dunal) Bitter
Mexico: State of Puebla; Mpio. Chignahuapan; N of town of Chignahuapan, E of small town
of San Joaquin, both E and W sides of Barranca El Salto. 7300 ft.
Disturbed open grassy areas on W side of barranca and cultivated fields upslope on E side.
Original vegetation is oak-pine woodland with Eupatorium and Baccharis. Very moist and
foggy. Growing in com fields with beans, squash and many other weeds. Fields plowed with
oxen and plow. Soil of volcanic origin, dense, brown and clayey. This species is common, but
only in certain spots in fields. People say that the species is declining in numbers. Some
fertilizer is used regularly, and rarely some herbicide. Perennial herb from storage root, with
long white underground branches. Most plants not yet in flower, a few have flowers and even
fewer have fruit. Plants here seem late compared with other areas.
Informant: Woman who plants fields; use: edible fruit; indigenous name: "la chichi"
Ellen Dean 264	22 Sept 1991
with Thomas Starbuck
Fieldwork supported by grants and fellowships from:
the National Science Foundation, Explorer’s Club, Sigma Xi, Hardman Foundation, Tinker Foundation,
and UC Berkeley
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