Tessaria absinthioides

Names and Synonyms

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Baccharis banksiifolia
• Pluchea absinthioides
• Baccharis absinthioides

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, known scientifically as Tessaria absinthioides, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta. Within the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae, it is classified under the order Asterales and the family Asteraceae. Finally, it is situated within the genus Tessaria.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a broad distribution across several regions of the South American continent. In Western South America, its presence is documented in both Bolivia and Peru. The species can also be found in Brazil, specifically within the southern part of the country. Moving toward the southern reaches of the continent, it inhabits the northeastern and southern regions of Argentina. Collectively, these locations highlight the plant's wide range across diverse South American landscapes.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Tessaaria absinthioides is characterized by its ability to inhabit a vast vertical gradient within its native landscape, demonstrating significant adaptability to varying environmental conditions. This species thrives across a wide altitudinal spectrum, ranging from sea level up to an elevation of 3000 m AMSL. This expansive elevational range suggests that the plant can tolerate a diverse array of climatic variables, from the warmer, more humid conditions found at 0 m AMSL to the cooler, potentially more temperate or montane environments found at its upper limit of 3000 m AMSL. Such ecological plasticity allows the species to occupy multiple niche layers, facilitating its distribution across different topographical zones and varying levels of atmospheric pressure and temperature.

Elevational range max:

3000 m AMSL

Elevational range min:

0 m AMSL

Life history

The life history of Tessaeria absinthioides is characterized by a perennial lifecycle, allowing the plant to persist in its environment over multiple growing seasons. As a perennial species, it avoids the complete senescence seen in annuals, instead maintaining its structural integrity and biological functions through successive years. This longevity enables the plant to establish robust root systems and accumulate sufficient energy reserves to support repeated reproductive cycles, ensuring its continued presence and stability within its natural ecological niche.

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Tessaeria absinthioides is characterized by its distinct growth form and structural adaptations. It is classified as a woody shrub, exhibiting a robust and woody constitution rather than being non-woody or variable. In terms of its habitat and ecological positioning, the plant is primarily terrestrial, lacking aquatic or semiaquatic tendencies, and it functions as an independent organism rather than acting as a parasite. Although it possesses certain structural characteristics, it is not an epiphyte, maintaining a strictly terrestrial existence rather than being a holoepiphyte, hemiepiphyte, or facultative epiphyte. Furthermore, while it exhibits a self-supporting growth habit, it does not function as an obligatory or facultative climber, liana, or vine, instead maintaining its upright, self-supporting shrub structure.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

shrub

Parasite :

independent

Woodiness :

woody

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Chemicals

Tessaria absinthioides has 2 reported phytochemicals identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Flavonoids, Sesquiterpenes.

Flavonoids

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Sesquiterpenes

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Activities

Tessaria absinthioides has 7 reported activities identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Antimicrobial, Antimitogenic, Digestive.

Antioxidant

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Journal of food science
4. Frontiers in physiology

Antibacterial

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antimicrobial

1. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical

Antimitogenic

1. Frontiers in physiology

Digestive

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Expectorant

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Hypocholesterolemic

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Conditions

Tessaria absinthioides has 10 reported investigations on conditions identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include Melanoma, Metastasis, atherogenesis, cardiovascular disease, expectorant.

Melanoma

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Metastasis

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Atherogenesis

1. Frontiers in physiology

Cardiovascular disease

1. Frontiers in physiology

Expectorant

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Hepatitis

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Lipid peroxidation

1. Frontiers in physiology

Pain

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Renal insufficiency

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Triglycerides

1. Frontiers in physiology

Preparations

Tessaria absinthioides has 3 reported preparations identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include aqueous extract, ethanol 20% extracts, organic (OE) and aqueous extracts (AE).

Aqueous extract

1. Frontiers in physiology

Ethanol 20% extracts

1. Journal of food science

Organic (oe) and aqueous extracts (ae)

1. Virology journal