Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Common name: Navajo tea, Hopi tea greenthread, cota

Family: Asteraceae (Aster)

Distribution: Central and Western United States, Northern Mexico, South America

Habitat: Disturbed areas, plains, hillsides, fields, roadsides

Hardiness: USDA Zone 4 (-30 to -20 °F)

Life form: Herbaceous perennial

Occurrence in New Mexico: New Mexico native plant

Growing Conditions: This perennial herb is native to most of the western United States; its range extends from California and Oregon; east to South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas; south to Texas and Mexico; and in South America. It grows at elevations of 1,000-9,500 feet. In some areas, it may have escaped cultivation and naturalized. Hopi tea, or cota, is common in New Mexico, where it is found in dry or grassy areas in and around Santa Fe and along roadsides, on plains and mesas of Navajo lands at an elevation of 4,000 to 7,500 feet. It is cultivated commercially near Gallup and Santa Fe. Plants are often found on disturbed sites, in sandy or clay-rich soils, growing among desert scrub, or in oak/juniper or yellow pine woodlands. It grows in full sun and does not tolerate shade. Cota may be grown from seed, and plants are sometimes commercially available.

Description: Cota or Navajo tea has wiry, brittle, branching stems that reach about 2 ½ feet in height. Leaves are inconspicuous, growing in opposite pairs at widely-spaced intervals along the lower ¾ of the stems. The leaves are 1½-3 inches long, finely divided into narrow, linear lobes. In summer, each stem is topped by a single flowerhead, about ½ inch wide, consisting only of numerous (100 or more) yellow disk florets and no ray florets. The tiny florets have fused throats and are lobed. A distinct grayish-green cup (involucre) formed by partly fused bracts forms the base of the flowerhead. The plants are often coated with white powdery substance. The achenes, which enclose the seeds, have barbed awns.