{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Other}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Madia_elegans_flower.jpg |image_caption = ''Madia elegans'' |display_parents = 3 |taxon = Madia |authority = Molina 1782 |synonyms_ref = <ref name=v/> |synonyms = * ''Madaria'' <small>DC.</small> * ''Harpaecarpus'' <small>Nutt.</small> * ''Biotia'' <small>Cass.</small> * ''Amida'' <small>Nutt.</small> * ''Madorella'' <small>Nutt.</small> * ''Madariopsis'' <small>Nutt.</small> }}
'''''Madia''''' is a genus of annual or perennial usually aromatic herbs with yellow flowers, in the tribe Madieae within the family Asteraceae.<ref name=w>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41027931#page/142/mode/1up Molina, Giovanni Ignazio. 1782. Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chili 136–137, 354] text in Italian, footnotes in French and Latin</ref>
They are sometimes known as '''tarweeds'''. The species in this genus are native to western North America and southwestern South America. The name ''Madia'' is derived from native Chilean name ("Madi") for one of the members of the genus (''Madia sativa'').<ref name=w/><ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=119433 Flora of North America, Vol. 21 Page 303, Madia Molina, Sag. Stor. Nat. Chili. 136, 354. 1782. ]</ref> Tarweeds derive their common name from the intense stickiness of the plant.<ref name=USDA>{{USDA}}{{cite web |title=Common Madia |url=https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_mael.pdf |website=USDA |access-date=28 June 2025}}</ref>
==Uses== Tarweeds produce abundant seed, are agreeably aromatic and oily, and form an important part of the small seeds used in pinole. Tarweed and other seeds in pinole formed a staple food in the diet of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Coast. In particular, the seeds of gumweed (''Madia elegans'' ssp. ''densifolia'') were among the most valued by the Miwok people for pinole. The Hupa, Cahuilla, Diegueño, Chumash, Costanoan, Kawaiisu, and Maidu tribes in California made pinole from ''Madia''species.<ref name=USDA/>
==Ecology== The dark seeds (achenes) of tarweeds are used as food by many birds and small mammals, including mourning doves, quail, blackbirds, finches, Oregon juncos, California horned larks, western meadowlarks, American pipits, sparrows, towhees, chipmunks, ground squirrels, and mice. Cottontail rabbits, ground squirrels, and chipmunks eat the plants.<ref name=USDA/> ==Taxonomy== ===Species=== There are 11 accepted species of ''Madia''.<ref name=v>{{cite GCD |title=''Madia'' Molina |id=1075544 |access-date=2025-08-02}}</ref><ref>[http://bonap.net/NAPA/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Madia Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps]</ref> * ''Madia anomala'' <small>Greene</small> - plumpseeded madia - northern CA * ''Madia chilensis'' <small>(Nutt.) Reiche</small> - central Chile * ''Madia citrigracilis'' <small>D.D.Keck</small> - Shasta tarweed - northern CA * ''Madia citriodora'' <small>Greene</small> - lemon-scented madia - northern CA, NV, OR, WA, ID * ''Madia elegans'' <small>D.Don ex Lindl.</small> - common madia - northern CA, NV, OR, WA * ''Madia exigua'' <small>(Sm.) A.Gray</small> - small tarweed - CA OR WA NV ID MT BC, Baja California * ''Madia glomerata'' <small>Hook.</small> - mountain tarweed - mountains of western United States; scattered locales in Canada and in north-central + northeastern United States * ''Madia gracilis'' <small>(Sm. ex Sm.) D.D.Keck</small> - grassy tarweed - CA OR WA NV ID UT MT BC * ''Madia radiata'' <small>Kellogg</small> - golden madia - CA * ''Madia sativa'' <small>Molina</small> - coast tarweed - CA OR WA NV ID BC; scattered populations in eastern Canada + northeastern United States; southern Argentina, southern Chile * ''Madia subspicata'' <small>D.D.Keck</small> - slender tarweed - CA
Several genera have been split from ''Madia'', including, ''Anisocarpus'', ''Harmonia'', ''Jensia'' and ''Kyhosia''. Species include:<ref name=v/> * ''Madia bolanderi'' - ''Kyhosia bolanderi'' * ''Madia doris-nilesiae'' - ''Harmonia doris-nilesiae'' * ''Madia hallii'' - ''Harmonia hallii'' * ''Madia madioides'' - ''Anisocarpus madioides'' * ''Madia minima'' - ''Hemizonella minima'' * ''Madia nutans'' - ''Harmonia nutans'' * ''Madia stebbinsii'' - ''Harmonia stebbinsii'' * ''Madia yosemitana'' - ''Jensia yosemitana''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{NIE Poster|Madia}} * [https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MADIA USDA Plants Profile for ''Madia'' (tarweed)] * [http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/madia.htm U.H.Botany: Asteraceae; Heliantheae-Madiinae; ''Madia''] — ''Gerald Carr's site at the University of Hawaii''. * {{ITIS |id=38017 |taxon=''Madia''}} * [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?MADIA Jepson Manual treatment: ''Madia''] * [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=ucjeps&where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Madia&rel-taxon=begins+with&title_tag=Madia ''Madia'' — U.C. Photos Gallery] * {{Commons category-inline|Madia}}
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Category:Madia Category:Asteraceae genera
{{Madieae-stub}}