Stanleya pinnata Pursh.
Viridiplantae > Streptophyta > Streptophytina > Embryophyta > Tracheophyta > Euphyllophyta > Spermatophyta > Magnoliopsida > Mesangiospermae > eudicotyledons > Gunneridae > Pentapetalae > rosids > malvids > Brassicales > Brassicaceae > Thelypodieae >Stanleya > pinnata [1]
![Prince's Plume in flower located on California-Nevada border south of Pahrump [2].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/princesplume-first.jpg)
Prince's Plume in flower located on California-Nevada border south of Pahrump [2].
Perennial shrub with stems arising from a caudex (thickened, woody persistent base of the plant), stems (2.5-) 3.5-12 (-15) dm tall or more, glabrous (smooth, hairless) to pilose (with long, soft straight hairs), glaucous (waxy). Leaves lanceolate (lance-shaped) to elliptic, pinnatifid (lobed half the distance or more to the midrib) or the upper usually entire, not auriculate (with earlobe-shaped appendage), glabrous or sparsely pilose; pedicels (flower stalk) 4-13 mm long, spreading; sepals 11-22 mm long, yellowish, reflexed, glabrous; petals 11-17 mm long, the blade 1-3.8 mm wide, the claw hairy within. Fruits siliques (dry, dehiscent fruit, separating into two valves), (30-) 35-70 (-80) mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide, rounded or somewhat flattened; stipe (stalk of the silique) 1-24 mm long, puberulent at base [3].
![Stanleya pinnata near Corn Creek station in the Desert National Wildlife Range [4].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/princesplume-sec.jpg)
Stanleya pinnata near Corn Creek station in the Desert National Wildlife Range [4].
Prince’s Plume diagnostic features include its rather large yellow racemes, and stalks that can be up to 6 feet tall [5]. There are three accepted varieties of Stanleya pinnata [6]. One of the varieties, Stanleya pinnata var. texana, is endemic to Texas [7] however, the other two varieties are native in Utah [6,8], being Stanleya pinnata var. pinnata and S. pinnata var. integrifolia. Variety pinnata can be distinguished by its larger, pinnatifid leaves and larger sepals as well as being taller in length compared to var. integrifolia [3].
The genus “Stanleya” is named after the president of the Linnaean and Zoological societies in London during the early 1800s, Lord Edward Stanley [9]. In 1993, R.C. Rollins suggested that S. pinnata (Pursh) Britton included four varieties being var. bipinnata (Greene), var. integrifolia (C. W. James), var. inyoensis (Munz & Roos), and var. pinnata [7]. However, since then several studies have been done and there are now three accepted varieties (as mentioned earlier).
![Close up of Stanleya pinnata flower showing the petals and spreading sepals [11].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/princesplume-third.jpg)
Close up of Stanleya pinnata flower showing the petals and spreading sepals [11].
Because of it’s selenium rich properties, Prince’s plume should not be eaten and does not have many economic uses. However, several native american tribes used the plant as a food source as well as a traditional medicinal plant. This includes the Kawaiisu tribe boiling the leaves and stem to remove the selenium, then squeezing with cold water to remove the bitterness and frying them in oil to eat [12]. The Paiute tribe would use the plant to make a poultice and apply to treat glandular swelling and throat pain. Some tribes used the plant to create a tonic to treat general illness [13]. The Shoshoni tribe would use the root material to treat earaches and toothaches by applying to the gums [13].
![County level distribution of Stanleya pinnata [8].](/crfs/images/native-plants/plant-directory/princesplume-fourth.jpg)
County level distribution of Stanleya pinnata [8].
Stanleya pinnata has been categorized as a “secure” species, although conservation status needs to be reviewed [13].
Prince’s plume is found in salt desert shrub, mixed desert shrub, sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, and mountain brush communities at 915-2290 m [3]. It grows in seleniferous and fine-textured soils that are derived from many different geological formations. Occurs in most Utah counties and throughout the central and western United States [10].
[1] Schoch CL, et al. NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools. Database (Oxford). 2020: baaa062. PubMed: 32761142 PMC: PMC7408187.
[2] Welsh, S. L. A Utah flora. 3rd ed., Brigham Young University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8425-2556-4Shebs , S. (2005). Photo of Stanleya pinnata (prince’s plume) on California-Nevada border south of Pahrump. photograph, California - Nevada Border. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stanleya_pinnata_flowers.jpg
[3] Welsh, S. L., Atwood, N. D., Goodrich, S., & Higgins, L. C. (2016). A Utah flora (Third). Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum.
[4] Shebs , S. (2005a). Photo of Stanleya pinnata near Corn Creek station in the Desert National Wildlife Range. photograph, Las Vegas, Nevada. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanleya_pinnata_5.jpg
[5] Al-Shehbaz, I. A. (2010). Brassicaceae. In Flora of North America (Vol. 7, pp. 695–697). essay, Oxford University Press.
[6] Stanleya pinnata var. Integrifolia (e.james) rollins: Plants of the World Online: Kew Science. Plants of the World Online. (n.d.). https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:298797-2
[7] Turner, B. L. 2004. A new variety of Stanleya pinnata (Brassicaceae) from the Big Bend Region of Trans-Pecos, Texas. Lundellia 7: 39-43.
[8] Stanleya pinnata (Pursh) Britton “desert princesplume.” USDA plants database. (n.d.). https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=STPI
[9] Clark, D. J. (2021). Wildflowers of Utah’s Colorado Plateau: A field guide to wildflowers of Captiol Reef National Park and surrounding areas of Southern Utah. Trails Books, an imprint of Bower House.
[10] Buren, R. V., Cooper, J. G., Shultz, L. M., & Harper, K. T. (2011). Woody Plants of Utah a field guide with identification keys to native and naturalized trees, shrubs, cacti, and vines. Utah State University Press.
[11] Morefield , J. (2008). Princes Plume, Stanleya pinnata. photograph, Pine Nut Mountains, Nevada. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Princes_plume,_Stanleya_pinnata_(15306462087).jpg
[12] Zigmond, Maurice L., 1981, Kawaiisu Ethnobotany, Salt Lake City. University of Utah Press, page 65
[13] Train, Percy, James R. Henrichs and W. Andrew Archer, 1941, Medicinal Uses of Plants by Indian Tribes of Nevada, Washington DC. U.S. Department of Agriculture, page 142
[14] Stanleya pinnata Desert Prince’s-plume. NatureServe Explorer 2.0. (2024, May 3). https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.128190/Stanleya_pinnata
