Parlin's pussy's-toes
Antennaria parlinii Fernald
Images
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Morphology
- Stem
- Erect, simple, tomentose.
- Leaves
- Mostly basal, cauline much-reduced, alternate. Basal leaves: blade spatulate to ovate, elliptic, or obovate, .8 to 2.4 inches long, .2 to 2.2 inch wide, 3- or 5-veined, margins entire, tip rounded to acute and mucronate, lower surface white, tomentose to pubescent, upper surface gray-green, floccose to glabrescent. Cauline leaves oblong-lanceolate, .2 to 1.6 inches.
- Inflorescence
- Heads 4-15, in corymb-like arrays. Involucres, cylindric to campanulate or hemispheric, .28 to .5 inch; phyllaries in 3-6 series.
- Flower
- Ray florets 0; disk florets 20-100, white, staminate or pistillate: corolla .16 to .24 inch, 5-lobed.
- Fruit
- Achenes brown, ovoid, .05 to .06 inch; pappus of 10-20 smooth or barbellate bristles, .2 to .3 inch, bristles connate basally, falling as a unit.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Rocky, oak-hickory forests and woodlands, glades
- Distribution
- East 2/5 of Kansas
Practical Information
- Uses
- The leaves remain green through the winter and are eaten by deer, rabbits, grouse, and bobwhite quail.
Additional Notes
Comments
Named for American botanist John Crawford Parlin. Antennaria, antennae and possessing, alluding to pappus bristles of the staminate florets. Parlin's pussy's-toes are dioecious (having staminate flowers on one plant and pistillate flowers on a separate plant) or gynodioecious (having some plants with only bisexual flowers and some with only pistillate flowers).
Special Notes: See also field pussy-toes
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 4-18 inches
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2014-05-24
Color Groups
White, Green & Greenish White Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: April, May