The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

woolly everlasting, woolly pussy-toes

alpine catsfoot, alpine pussytoes

Habit Dioecious. Gynoecious (staminate plants uncommon).
Plants

3–20 cm (caudices branching or rhizomes stout).

3–18 cm.

Stolons

none.

1–7 cm.

Basal leaves

3-nerved, narrowly oblanceolate, 10–60(–100) × 3–12 mm, tips acute, faces gray-woolly or tomentose.

1-nerved, spatulate to oblanceolate, 6–25 × 2–7 mm, tips mucronate, abaxial faces tomentose, adaxial green-glabrescent to gray-pubescent.

Cauline leaves

linear, 5–40 mm, mid and distal flagged.

linear, 5–20 mm, at least mid and distal flagged.

Involucres

staminate 4.5–6 mm; pistillate 5–8 mm.

staminate 5–6.5 mm; pistillate 4–7(–10) mm.

Corollas

staminate 3–4.5 mm; pistillate 2.5–4 mm.

staminate 3–3.5 mm; pistillate 3.5–5 mm.

Phyllaries

(proximally light brown, dark brown, or olivaceous) distally whitish or light brown.

distally dark brown, black, or olivaceous.

Heads

3–9 in corymbiform arrays.

2–5 in corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

1–1.6 mm, glabrous;

pappi: staminate 4–5 mm; pistillate 3.5–5 mm.

1–1.8 mm, sparingly papillate;

pappi: staminate 3.5–4 mm; pistillate 4.5–6 mm.

2n

= 28 (under A. neodioica).

= 56, 84, 98, 112.

Antennaria lanata

Antennaria alpina

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering mid–late summer.
Habitat Protected alpine and subalpine sites, gravelly or sandy soils near conifers at timberline Dry to moist alpine tundra
Elevation 1400–3400 m (4600–11200 ft) 100–2400 m (300–7900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; MT; WY; AB; BC; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Antennaria alpina is one of the more morphologically variable agamic complexes in the genus. Some taxonomists have argued that true Antennaria alpina does not occur in North America, because none of the North American material exactly matches the type of A. alpina, which is from Lapland (M. O. Malte 1934; A. E. Porsild 1965). If one uses a strict typological species concept, then this is true; I recognize that this species complex is composed of innumerable apomictic clones and am circumscribing a broad species concept for A. alpina. The potential morphologic overlap between the A. media and A. alpina complexes is a major taxonomic problem. The chief difference between members of the two complexes is the presence of prominent flags on cauline leaves in A. alpina and their absence in A. media. Antennaria alpina of North America is gynoecious and characterized by its dark green to black phyllaries and conspicuous flags on the distal cauline leaves. The basal leaves vary from glabrous, as in the type material, to pubescent. The primary progenitors of the A. alpina complex include A. aromatica, A. densifolia, A. friesiana subsp. alaskana, A. friesiana subsp. neoalaskana, A. monocephala subsp. monocephala, and A. pulchella.

Excluded names:

Some Antennaria names are based on early-generation interspecific hybrids, including:

Antennaria ×erigeroides Greene = A. corymbosa × A. racemosa

A. ×foliacea Greene = A. microphylla × A. racemosa

A. ×macounii Greene = A. media × A. umbrinella

A. ×oblancifolia E. E. Nelson = A. racemosa × A. umbrinella

A. ×rousseaui A. E. Porsild = ? A. alpina × A. rosea

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 19, p. 399. FNA vol. 19, p. 414.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Gnaphalieae > Antennaria Asteraceae > tribe Gnaphalieae > Antennaria
Sibling taxa
A. alpina, A. anaphaloides, A. arcuata, A. argentea, A. aromatica, A. corymbosa, A. densifolia, A. dimorpha, A. dioica, A. flagellaris, A. friesiana, A. geyeri, A. howellii, A. luzuloides, A. marginata, A. media, A. microphylla, A. monocephala, A. neglecta, A. parlinii, A. parvifolia, A. plantaginifolia, A. pulchella, A. pulcherrima, A. racemosa, A. rosea, A. rosulata, A. soliceps, A. solitaria, A. stenophylla, A. suffrutescens, A. umbrinella, A. virginica
A. anaphaloides, A. arcuata, A. argentea, A. aromatica, A. corymbosa, A. densifolia, A. dimorpha, A. dioica, A. flagellaris, A. friesiana, A. geyeri, A. howellii, A. lanata, A. luzuloides, A. marginata, A. media, A. microphylla, A. monocephala, A. neglecta, A. parlinii, A. parvifolia, A. plantaginifolia, A. pulchella, A. pulcherrima, A. racemosa, A. rosea, A. rosulata, A. soliceps, A. solitaria, A. stenophylla, A. suffrutescens, A. umbrinella, A. virginica
Synonyms A. carpatica var. lanata Gnaphalium alpinum, A. alpina subsp. canescens, A. alpina subsp. porsildii, A. alpina var. cana, A. alpina var. canescens, A. alpina var. compacta, A. alpina var. glabrata, A. alpina var. intermedia, A. alpina var. porsildii, A. alpina var. stolonifera, A. alpina var. ungavensis, A. arenicola, A. atriceps, A. bayardi, A. boecheriana, A. brevistyla, A. brunnescens, A. cana, A. canescens, A. canescens subsp. porsildii, A. canescens var. pseudoporsildii, A. columnaris, A. compacta, A. confusa, A. crymophila, A. foggii, A. friesiana subsp. compacta, A. glabrata, A. intermedia, A. labradorica, A. longii, A. media subsp. compacta, A. pallida, A. pedunculata, A. porsildii, A. sornborgeri, A. stolonifera, A. subcanescens, A. ungavensis, A. vexillifera, A. wiegandii
Name authority (Hooker) Greene: Pittonia 3: 288. (1898) (Linnaeus) Gaertner: Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 410. (1791)
Web links