Species: Antennaria dimorpha (Nutt.) Torr. & Gray

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Antennaria dimorpha (Nutt.) Torr. & Gray

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Asteraceae or Compositae

Genus:

Antennaria

Species Synonyms:

Antennaria dimorpha var. integra Henderson
Antennaria dimorpha var. latisquama (Piper) M.E. Peck
Antennaria dimorpha var. macrocephala D.C. Eat
Antennaria latisquama Piper
Antennaria macrocephala (D.C. Eat) Rydb.
Gnaphalium dimorphum Nutt.

Common Names:

low everlasting
low pussytoes
cushion pussytoes

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

British Columbia – southwestern Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan:

southwestern Saskatchewan; Leader, Eastend, Killdeer

Ecoregion:

Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

dry sand, silt, gravel or clay in short-grass prairie

Associated species:

baldhead sandwort, foothill arnica, lamb-tongue ragwort, narrowleaf milkvetch, prairie onion, selaginella, small leaf pussytoes, stemless townsendia

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S2

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Low everlasting is threatened because of rarity. This plant is regionally restricted in Saskatchewan. No immediate threats are known but are possible in the future.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

1 – 5 cm tall

Stems:

base branched, woody; perennial, densely tufted, mat forming, runners absent, hairs greyish and matted

Leaves:

basal and on the stem; basal leaves erect, 1 – 4 mm wide, tapering to petiole-like base, tip tapered; stem leaves well-developed, 1 – 3 cm long, linear to lance-shaped, gray-woolly on both sides

Inflorescence:

male and female heads on separate plants, solitary; male heads: bracts 5 – 7 mm, colourless and transparent at margins and tip, otherwise blackish-green or brown; female heads: bracts 10 – 15 mm high, narrow, slender, tinged with brown or reddish-brown, whitish margin at tip.

Flowers:

petals white; male pappus bristles upwardly barbed

Fruits:

achene 3 mm long, puberulent, olive coloured; pappus long, white

ANAPHALIS VS ANTENNARIA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN
Only one species of Anaphalis grows in Saskatchewan, but Anaphalis is very similar in appearance to Antennaria.

1 May have runners; basal leaves conspicuous, may be in a rosette, stem leaves few and reduced upwards, bracts white to yellow-tinged to rose	Antennaria
1 Runners absent; basal leaves deciduous, stem leaves many and not markedly reduced upwards, bracts pearly white	Anaphalis

ANTENNARIA KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Heads solitary	A. dimorpha
1 Heads more than one	2

2 Runners absent, not mat forming; basal leaves erect, commonly >8 x as long as broad, acute to short-tapered at tip, not rosette forming	3
2 Usually with numerous leafy runners (though may be absent in some species if densely tufted), mat forming; basal leaves spreading and forming rosettes	4

3 Bracts in 3 – 4 unequal series, white or whitish, tapered to obtuse	A. anaphaloides
3 Bracts in 6 – 7 series, deep brown to black, at least inner ones gradually tapered to the tip	A. pulcherrima

4 Rosette leaves to over 5 mm wide; heads 2 or more; achenes bumpy, at least when young	5
4 Rosette leaves < 5 mm broad; heads several; achenes not bumpy	6

5 Upper leaf surface distinctly less hairy than lower, becoming hairless with age	A. neglecta*
5 Upper leaf surface nearly as densely hairy as lower, hairless only in extreme age	A. parvifolia**

6 Bracts with dark spot at the base	A. corymbosa
6 Bracts without dark spot at base	7

7 Bracts pink to rose	A. rosea
7 Bracts white, brown, yellow-brown or green at base	8

8 Young flowering heads not nodding, bracts brown, yellow-brown or green at base, dry and membranous parts brown or whitish	A. umbrinella
8 Younger flowering heads nodding, inner bracts white-brown	A. microphylla

*there are three varieties in Saskatchewan, not addressed in this key
** once considered A. aprica if: bracts 8 – 13 mm high; stem leaves 5 – 7, and A. parvifolia if: bracts 4 – 7 mm high; stem leaves 8 – 12