Flora of North America species comparison

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Pseudognaphalium microcephalum

Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium

felt-leaf everlasting, San Diego rabbit-tobacco, Wright's cudweed

blunt-leaf rabbit-tobacco, eastern rabbit-tobacco, gnaphale à feuilles obtuses, old field balsam, rabbit-tobacco
Habit Perennials, (30–)50–100 cm; taprooted. Annuals or winter annuals (sometimes faintly fragrant), (10–)30–100 cm; taprooted.
Stems

persistently grayish tomentose, not glandular, (3–5 mm diam. near bases).

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

blades narrowly oblanceolate, 2–5(–8) cm × 5–10(–18) mm (gradually smaller distally, becoming lanceolate), bases not clasping, not decurrent, margins flat, faces weakly bicolor, tomentose (adaxial less densely), not 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

turbinate-campanulate, 5–6 mm.

broadly campanulate, 5–7 mm.
Pistillate florets

29–49.

38–96.
Bisexual florets

5–9.

4–8(–11).
Phyllaries

in 4–5 series, white (opaque, dull), ovate to oblong-ovate (inner narrower, all usually with filiform but definitely thickened keel and slight apiculum), tomentose (at least bases).

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

in loose, corymbiform arrays.

in corymbiform (sometimes rounded to elongate) arrays.
Cypselae

ridged, smooth to weakly papillate-roughened.

ridged, smooth.
2n

= 28.

Pseudognaphalium microcephalum

Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Phenology Flowering (Apr–)Jun–Aug(–Nov). Flowering Aug–Oct.
Habitat Grassy hillsides, gravelly canyon bottoms, chaparral, coastal sage scrub Open sites, often disturbed, roadsides, fields, pastures, open woods, in various soils, most abundantly in sand
Elevation 50–900(–1800) m (200–3000(–5900) ft) 5–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch 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 microcephalum is characterized by stems commonly stiffly erect and slightly zigzag distally, relatively thick (3–5 mm diam. near bases), and closely grayish tomentose, leaves oblanceolate, sessile, sometimes clasping, not decurrent, and weakly bicolor, and heads usually in open, corymbiform arrays.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 419. 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. leucocephalum, P. luteoalbum, P. macounii, P. micradenium, 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 microcephalum, Gnaphalium albidum, Gnaphalium canescens subsp. microcephalum, P. canescens subsp. microcephalum Gnaphalium obtusifolium, Gnaphalium obtusifolium var. praecox
Name authority (Nuttall) 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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