Antennaria rosea
Antennaria aromatica
Antennaire rosée, rosy everlasting, rosy pussytoes
aromatic pussytoes, scented pussytoes
4–30 cm.
2–7 cm (stems stipitate-glandular).
1–7 cm.
0.5–2.5 cm.
1-nerved, 8–40 × 2–10 mm, spatulate, oblanceolate, or cuneate, tips mucronate, faces usually gray-pubescent, adaxial sometimes green-glabrous.
1-nerved, usually cuneate-spatulate, sometimes oblanceolate, 5–16 × 3–10 mm, tips mucronate, faces gray-pubescent (and stipitate-glandular; fresh leaves citronella scented).
linear, 6–36 mm, usually not flagged (apices acute to subulate or with lanceolate flags).
linear, 3–14 mm, not flagged (apices acute).
staminate unknown; pistillate 4–10 mm.
staminate 4.5–6.5 mm; pistillate 5–7(–9) mm.
staminate unknown; pistillate 2.5–6 mm.
staminate 2.5–3 mm; pistillate 3.5–4.5 mm.
distally brown, cream, gray, green, pink, red, white, or yellow (apices acute or erose-obtuse).
distally light brown, dark brown, or olivaceous.
3–20 in corymbiform arrays.
borne singly or 2–5 in corymbiform arrays.
0.7–1.8 mm, glabrous or papillate;
pappi: staminate unknown; pistillate 3.5–6.5 mm.
0.9–2 mm, sparingly papillate;
pappi: staminate 3–4 mm; pistillate 4.5–5.5 mm.
= 42, 56, (70).
= 28, 56, 84.
Antennaria rosea
Antennaria aromatica
Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).
Antennaria rosea is the most widespread Antennaria of North America, occurring in dry to moist habitats from near sea level to the alpine zone. The A. rosea polyploid agamic complex is one of the more morphologically diverse complexes of North American Antennaria. It occurs from the western cordillera of North America from southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico north to subarctic Alaska and east to Greenland and, disjunctly, in the Canadian maritime provinces, eastern Quebec, and immediately north of and adjacent to Lake Superior (R. J. Bayer et al. 1991). Antennaria chilensis (including A. chilensis var. magellanica) is a Patagonian endemic that morphologically fits within the circumscription of A. rosea and may well be an amphitropical disjunct member of the complex.
Antennaria rosea is taxonomically confusing; it includes agamospermous microspecies that have been recognized as distinct taxonomic species. Morphometric and isozyme analyses have demonstrated that the primary source of morphologic variability in the complex derives from six sexually reproducing progenitors, A. aromatica, A. corymbosa, A. pulchella, A. microphylla, A. racemosa, and A. umbrinella (R. J. Bayer 1989b, 1990b, 1990c). Additionally, three other sexually reproducing species, A. marginata, A. suffrutescens, and A. rosulata, may have contributed to the genetic complexity of the A. rosea complex (Bayer 1990b). Here, four reasonably distinct subspecies are recognized within the complex.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Known only from the northern Rockies, Antennaria aromatica is characterized by glandulosity, cuneate leaves, and odor of citronella in crushed leaves of living material. It is most closely related to A. densifolia of the Northwest Territories and Yukon (R. J. Bayer 1989c). Some collections of pistillate plants from Colorado and other areas of the Rockies superficially resemble A. aromatica and undoubtedly have A. aromatica in their parentage. They are non-glandular and odorless and are closer to the type of A. pulvinata, which is included in the circumscription of A. rosea, as A. rosea subsp. pulvinata (Bayer). Antennaria aromatica is a sexual progenitor of the A. rosea and A. alpina polyploid complexes.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Basal leaves 20–40 mm; phyllaries distally usually green, pink, red or white, seldom brown | subsp. rosea |
1. Basal leaves 8–20 mm; phyllaries distally brown, cream, gray, green, pink, red, white, or yellow | → 2 |
2. Pistillate: involucres 4–6.5 mm, corollas 2.5–4, pappi 3.5–5; cauline leaves 6–20 mm (tips subulate); phyllaries usually distally brown, sometimes cream, gray, or yellow | subsp. confinis |
2. Pistillate: involucres 6.5–10 mm, corollas 3.5–6 mm, pappi 5–6.5 mm; cauline leaves 6–19 or 9–26 mm (tips sometimes with flat, lanceolate scarious appendages); phyllaries distally brown, green, pink, red, or white | → 3 |
3. Plants 19–30 cm; cauline leaves 9–26 mm (proximalmost usually 19+ mm); heads usu- ally 6–12 | subsp. arida |
3. Plants 4–17 cm; cauline leaves 6–19 mm (proximalmost usually less than 19 mm); heads usually 3–5 | subsp. pulvinata |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
PNW Herbaria, 
SW CO Wildflowers, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
