Birding Travels
In North America

Puccoon - Lithospermum incisum
West of Berrenda Road
West of NM-27
South of Hillsboro, NM, USA
March 4, 2017
Photographs immediately above and three below

Several years ago we found blooming Puccoon in a boulder area high on a hill east of Hillsboro and have been, more or less, looking for it ever since.  To no avail.  On the fourth of March 2017 we were hiking off of Berrenda Road, west of NM-27 and south of Hillsboro when we encountered several specimens of this species.  A very pleasing find.

The Vascular Plants of the Gila website describes this species as: “Lithospermum incisum has a trumpet shaped symmetrical yellow corolla with crenate lobes. The leaves are linear with a strong central vein. Lithospermum incisum is found most frequently in canyons and streambanks, but it can adapt to various other habitats as well.”

The English Common names for this species include Puccoon, Golden Puccoon, Fringed Puccoon, Narrowleaf Puccoon, Narrow-leaved Puccoon, Narrowleaf Gromwell, Fringed Gromwell, and Narrowleaf Stoneseed.

Scientific synonyms for this species include Lithospermum angustifolium, Lithospermum linearifolium, Batschia linearifolia, Lithospermum mandanese, and Lithospermum oblongum.

This species was used by many of the indigenous tribes (including the Zuni, Navajo, Okanagon, Sioux, Shoshoni, the Thompson, Hopi, Great Basin Indians, Blackfoot, and the Cheyenne).

This species was described by Johann Georg Christian Lehmann, who was a German botanist (1792 - 1860), in 1818.  The type specimen was collected by Andrew Michaux in 1803 “near the rapids of the Ohio”.  

As noted in the BONAP map to the right, this species is found throughout the central part of the United States and Canada.  In the United States, the light green indicates that the species is native to, and not rare within, the county indicated.  In Mexico, it is found as far south as (at least) southern Coahuila.  Discover Life indicates that the species is found as far south as the southern most states of Mexico.  Many sources cut their range maps off at the southern border of the United States, but I strongly suspect that flora and fauna do not honor county, state, or national lines - or at least not until some idiot builds a wall.