Antennaria parvifolia

Antennaria parvifolia is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Nuttall's pussytoes and small-leaf pussytoes (not to be confused with littleleaf pussytoes). It is native to central and western North America, where it is widespread in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico from British Columbia east to Ontario and south to California, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León.[2][3][4] It has not been observed in California since 1987.[5]

Antennaria parvifolia

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Antennaria
Species:
A. parvifolia
Binomial name
Antennaria parvifolia
Synonyms[1]

Antennaria parvifolia generally grows a few centimeters high but it may reach 15 centimeters. The grayish, woolly-haired leaves are up to 3.5 centimeters long, the upper ones shorter and narrower than the basal. The inflorescence contains 2 to 7 flower heads. The plant may be gynoecious, containing only female flowers, or dioecious, with some female plants and some male in a given population. Dioecious plants are most common in Colorado and New Mexico,[2] and can reproduce sexually, though male plants are much less common than female.[5] Plants in most other areas are mostly gynoecious, reproducing asexually via apomixis.[2] The plant forms mats by spreading stolons and sprouting new stems.[5] The flower heads are lined with an outer layer of phyllaries which are variable in color from white to red, green, or brown.[2] The fruit is an achene with a pappus that helps it disperse on the wind.[2]

In Colorado Antennaria parvifoliais an indicator of overgrazing and increases in frequency on heavily grazed land. It grows in disturbed habitat and a wide variety of ecosystems and soil types.[5]

References
  1. The Plant List Antennaria parvifolia Nutt.
  2. Antennaria parvifolia. Flora of North America.
  3. Antennaria parvifolia. USDA Plants Profile.
  4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. Fryer, Janet L. 2011. (Revised from Matthews, Robin F. 1993.) Antennaria parvifolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
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