Antennaria pulcherrima (Showy Everlasting) - photos and description
15 cm ruler
Flower
heads with female flowers in above photo
Flower
heads with male flowers in above photo
Inner
involucral bracts pale brown
Base
of outer bracts with a large brown spot
Stem
leaf in above photo
Basal
leaf in above photo
General: A tall Antennaria species whose growth habit is not mat-forming. Foliage woolly.
Flowers: Flower heads upright or nodding, male and female flowers on separate plants. Involucre 5 mm long, outer bracts with brown spot at their base, inner petaloid bracts light brown or straw coloured. Flower heads measured at 8 mm diameter.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, reduced upwards, sessile, linear, up to 11 stem leaves on a stem. Basal leaves 3-nerved, elliptical, basal leaf highlighted in photo above was 17 cm long (including petiole) and 2 cm wide (pressed flat).
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 50 cm, we measured plants to 53 cm tall.
Habitat: Moist soil in the boreal forest.
Abundance: Listed as uncommon in Checklist of Vascular Plants of Saskatchewan.
Origin: Native.
Similar species: This plant is very similar to Antennaria anaphaloides. To distinguish between the two examine the colour of the innermost petaloid bracts. In A. anaphaloides the bracts are snow white; in A. pulcherrima the innermost bracts are light brown or straw coloured.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken on July 5th, moist, grassy roadside, 450 km northeast of our home in Regina, SK.