Antennaria pulchella
Antennaria media
beautiful pussy-toes, Sierra pussytoes
alpine pussytoes, dark pussytoes, Rocky Mountain pussytoes
(1–)3–12 cm (stems usually stipitate-glandular).
5–13 cm.
1–4(–9) cm.
1–4 cm.
1-nerved, spatulate to linear-cuneate, 6–12 × 1.5–4.5 mm, tips mucronate, faces glabrescent-scabrous to gray-pubescent (often with purple glandular hairs).
1-nerved, spatulate to oblanceolate, 6–19 × 2.5–6 mm, tips mucronate, faces gray-pubescent.
linear, 3–11(–13) mm, usually not flagged (apices acute to acuminate), rarely distal flagged.
linear, 5–20 mm, not flagged (apices acute).
staminate 4–5 mm; pistillate 3.5–4.5 mm.
staminate (3.5–)4.5–6.5 mm; pistillate 4–8 mm.
staminate 1.9–2.8 mm; pistillate 2–3 mm.
staminate 2.5–4.5 mm; pistillate 3–4.5 mm.
(relatively wide) distally dark brown-black (sometimes light brown or whitish at very tips; apices blunt).
distally dark brown, black, or olivaceous.
4–6 in corymbiform arrays.
2–5(–9) in corymbiform arrays.
0.7–1.3 mm, glabrous or slightly papillate;
pappi: staminate 2.5–3.5 mm; pistillate 2.5–3.5 mm.
0.6–1.6 mm, glabrous or papillate;
pappi: staminate 2.5–4.5 mm; pistillate 4–5.5 mm.
= 28 (as A. media).
= 56, 98, 112.
Antennaria pulchella
Antennaria media
Antennaria pulchella is the diploid progenitor of A. media and, consequently, a progenitor of the A. alpina complex (R. J. Bayer 1990d). The A. rosea and A. parvifolia complexes also have the genome of A. pulchella, shown in the high elevation clones with dark phyllaries in these two polyploid complexes. Antennaria pulchella is differentiated from A. media by shorter pistillate or staminate corollas and shorter cauline leaves (Bayer). This sexually reproducing diploid ranges from the area around Lake Tahoe to the Mt. Whitney region (Bayer).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Antennaria media ranges from Arizona to Alaska; dioecious and gynoecious populations are encountered (R. J. Bayer and G. L. Stebbins 1987). The dioecious (sexual) populations are restricted primarily to California and Oregon (Bayer et al. 1990). The main distinction between A. media and A. alpina is flags on distal cauline leaves present in A. alpina and mostly absent in A. media (Bayer 1990d). Phyllaries of the pistillate plants in A. alpina tend to be acute; they are blunter in A. media. At some point, it may be preferable to follow W. L. Jepson ([1923–1925]) and some later authors and treat A. media as a subspecies of A. alpina. Antennaria media appears to be an autopolyploid derivative of A. pulchella; genes from A. pulchella may have introgressed into the A. alpina and A. parvifolia complexes indirectly through A. media.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
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iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
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SW CO Wildflowers
