Flora of North America species comparison

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Pseudognaphalium leucocephalum

Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium

white cudweed, white rabbit-tobacco

blunt-leaf rabbit-tobacco, eastern rabbit-tobacco, gnaphale à feuilles obtuses, old field balsam, rabbit-tobacco
Habit Biennials or short-lived perennials, 30–60 cm; taprooted. Annuals or winter annuals (sometimes faintly fragrant), (10–)30–100 cm; taprooted.
Stems

densely and persistently white-tomentose, usually with stipitate-glandular hairs protruding through tomentum.

white-tomentose, sometimes lightly so, usually not glandular, rarely glandular near bases.
Leaf

blades (crowded, internodes mostly 1–3, sometimes to 10 mm) linear-lanceolate, 3–7 cm × 1–5(–6) mm, bases subclasping, not decurrent, margins strongly revolute, faces bicolor, abaxial densely white-tomentose, adaxial green, densely stipitate-glandular.

blades linear-lanceolate to elliptic or oblanceolate, 2.5–10 cm × 2–10 mm (relatively even-sized), bases not clasping, not decurrent, margins flat, faces bicolor, abaxial white-tomentose, adaxial green, usually glabrous or slightly glandular, sometimes with persistent light tomentum.
Involucres

broadly campanulate, 5–6 mm.

broadly campanulate, 5–7 mm.
Pistillate florets

66–85.

38–96.
Bisexual florets

(6–14, California)29–44.

4–8(–11).
Phyllaries

in 5–7 series, bright white (opaque, dull), oblong to oblong-ovate, glabrous.

in 4–6 series, white (opaque, usually shiny, sometimes dull), ovate to ovate-oblong, glabrous or tomentose (bases).
Heads

in corymbiform arrays.

in corymbiform (sometimes rounded to elongate) arrays.
Cypselae

ridged, smooth.

ridged, smooth.
2n

= 28.

Pseudognaphalium leucocephalum

Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Phenology Flowering (Jul–)Aug–Nov(–Dec). Flowering Aug–Oct.
Habitat Sandy or gravelly slopes, stream bottoms, arroyos, areas of oak-sycamore, oak-pine, to pine woodlands, commonly in riparian vegetation Open sites, often disturbed, roadsides, fields, pastures, open woods, in various soils, most abundantly in sand
Elevation 50–2100 m (200–6900 ft) 5–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Pseudognaphalium leucocephalum is similar to P. viscosum, which has shiny, hyaline, ovate-lanceolate phyllaries, 200–250 pistillate florets, (13–)16–29 bisexual florets, and papillate-roughened cypselae. Some plants of P. leucocephalum also appear to approach P. biolettii in general appearance, and it is possible that some of them may represent hybrids. Plants of P. biolettii differ from P. leucocephalum in their typically eglandular stems, broader, basally ampliate, clasping, more widely spaced, and less densely glandular leaves, and thinner, shiny phyllaries.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 423. FNA vol. 19, p. 420.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Gnaphalieae > Pseudognaphalium Asteraceae > tribe Gnaphalieae > Pseudognaphalium
Sibling taxa
P. arizonicum, P. austrotexanum, P. beneolens, P. biolettii, P. californicum, P. canescens, P. helleri, P. jaliscense, P. luteoalbum, P. macounii, P. micradenium, P. microcephalum, P. obtusifolium, P. pringlei, P. ramosissimum, P. roseum, P. saxicola, P. stramineum, P. thermale, P. viscosum
P. arizonicum, P. austrotexanum, P. beneolens, P. biolettii, P. californicum, P. canescens, P. helleri, P. jaliscense, P. leucocephalum, P. luteoalbum, P. macounii, P. micradenium, P. microcephalum, P. pringlei, P. ramosissimum, P. roseum, P. saxicola, P. stramineum, P. thermale, P. viscosum
Synonyms Gnaphalium leucocephalum Gnaphalium obtusifolium, Gnaphalium obtusifolium var. praecox
Name authority (A. Gray) Anderberg: Opera Bot. 104: 147. (1991) (Linnaeus) Hilliard & B. L. Burtt: Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 82: 205. (1981)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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