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

blunt-leaf rabbit-tobacco, eastern rabbit-tobacco, gnaphale à feuilles obtuses, old field balsam, rabbit-tobacco

sticky rabbit-tobacco, wing cudweed

Habit Annuals or winter annuals (sometimes faintly fragrant), (10–)30–100 cm; taprooted. Annuals (viscid and unpleasantly aromatic), 30–100 cm; taprooted.
Stems

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

persistently white-tomentose and stipitate-glandular.

Leaf

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.

blades (crowded, internodes mostly 1–3, sometimes to 10, mm) linear-lanceolate, (2–)4–8 cm × 3–10 mm, bases not clasping, usually (at least the proximal) decurrent 3–10 mm, margins strongly revolute to revolute-undulate, faces bicolor, abaxial densely white-tomentose, adaxial densely stipitate-glandular.

Involucres

broadly campanulate, 5–7 mm.

campanulate, 5–6 mm.

Pistillate florets

38–96.

200–250.

Bisexual florets

4–8(–11).

(13–)16–29.

Phyllaries

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

in 5–6 series, tawny-silvery to silvery white (hyaline, shiny), ovate-lanceolate (not keeled or thickened along midribs, not apiculate), glabrous.

Heads

in corymbiform (sometimes rounded to elongate) arrays.

in corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

ridged, smooth.

not ridged, papillate-roughened.

2n

= 28.

Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium

Pseudognaphalium viscosum

Phenology Flowering Aug–Oct. Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Open sites, often disturbed, roadsides, fields, pastures, open woods, in various soils, most abundantly in sand Rocky open sites, roadsides
Elevation 5–200 m (0–700 ft) 1400–1800 m (4600–5900 ft)
Distribution
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]
from FNA
TX; Mexico; Central America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Reports of Pseudognaphalium viscosum from the flora for states other than Texas are based on plants of P. macounii. Pseudognaphalium viscosum is similar to P. leucocephalum, which has broader and white-opaque phyllaries, longer bisexual corollas, and smooth cypselae.

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

Source FNA vol. 19, p. 420. FNA vol. 19, p. 422.
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. microcephalum, 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. obtusifolium, P. pringlei, P. ramosissimum, P. roseum, P. saxicola, P. stramineum, P. thermale
Synonyms Gnaphalium obtusifolium, Gnaphalium obtusifolium var. praecox Gnaphalium viscosum
Name authority (Linnaeus) Hilliard & B. L. Burtt: Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 82: 205. (1981) (Kunth) Anderberg: Opera Bot. 104: 148. (1991)
Web links