Antennaria plantaginifolia

Antennaria plantaginifolia
Female (pistillate) flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Antennaria
Species:	A. plantaginifolia
Binomial name
Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Richardson
Synonyms
Antennaria caroliniana Rydb. ex Small Antennaria decipiens Greene Antennaria denikeana B.Boivin Antennaria nemoralis Greene Antennaria petiolata Fernald Antennaria pinetorum Greene Antennaria plantaginea (L.) DC. Disynanthus plantagineus (L.) Raf. Gnaphalium disynanthus Raf. Gnaphalium monocephalum Carp. ex Torr. & A.Gray Gnaphalium plantaginifolium L. [1]

Antennaria plantaginifolia (known by the common names Plantain Leaf Pussytoes and Woman's Tobacco) is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States,^[2] that produces cream colored composite flowers in spring.

Description

Botanical illustration of Antennaria plantaginifolia (1913)

Antennaria plantaginifolia is rarely more than 15 centimeters tall, consisting of a basal rosette, and an erect stem which bears the inflorescence, a tight flat topped cluster of 4 to 17 fuzzy flower heads composed exclusively of disk flowers, with no ray flowers. The basal leaves are petiolate, oval to roundish, 3.5 to 7.5 centimeters long and 1.5 to 3.5 centimeters wide, with 3 to 7 prominent veins. The under side of the leaves is covered in thick silvery hair. Additional leaves along the stem are lanceolate and smaller. The fruit are cypselae with a pappus of white bristles.

Male (staminate) flower

Antennaria plantaginifolia is dioecious, the male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. It often forms colonies, sometimes consisting entirely of male or female plants. It does so in part through vegetative reproduction. Stolons emerging from the basal rosette take root and develop into new plants.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Distribution and habitat

Antennaria plantaginifolia is widely distributed in the eastern United States, although local distribution may be spotty. It has been recorded in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.^[2] In Virginia, it grows in habitats including dry forests, barrens, and meadows.^[8] The presence of this species is dependent on appropriate habitat, and it may be eliminated from an area by development, changes in land use, or competition with invasive species.

References