Field pussy-toes

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Field pussy-toes

Field pussy-toes staminate flowers

Field pussy-toes staminate flowers

Field pussy-toes

Field pussy-toes inflorescence

Field pussy-toes pistillate inflorescence

Field pussy-toes leaves

Field pussy-toes staminate inflorescence

Field pussy-toes achene bristles

Field pussy-toes

Field pussy-toes pistillate heads

Field pussy-toes pistillate heads

Field pussy-toes staminate heads

Field pussy-toes leaves

Field pussy-toes staminate heads

Morphology

Stem

Flowering stems erect, white-woolly.

Leaves

Mostly basal, simple, stalked, spatulate, 1 to 2.5 inches long, 1/4 to 3/4 inch wide, dark green and nearly glabrous above, white-woolly beneath, 1 main rib; margins entire; tips rounded to pointed; stem leaves alternate, sessile, linear, less than 1/2 inch long, tips often curled.

Inflorescence

Cyme-like clusters, dense to somewhat open, few to many heads, terminal.

Flower

Male and female flowers on separate plants; female inflorescences sometimes elongate; heads 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter; bracts narrow lanceolate, overlapping, brownish, tips whitish; ray florets absent; disk florets white, almost hidden by numerous hair-like bristles; staminate inflorescences with purplish brown anthers that protrude from florets, heads appearing spotted.

Fruit

Achenes, tiny, cylindric, olive-green, tipped with white bristles, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry prairies, pastures, old fields, and open wooded slopes.

Distribution

East 3/4 of Kansas.

Additional Notes