Difference between revisions of "Anaphalis margaritacea"

From Puget Prairie Plants
Line 4: Line 4:
 
Asteraceae
 
Asteraceae
 
===Plant Description===
 
===Plant Description===
General: Dioecious, leafy, erect, rhizomatous perennial, 2-9 dm. tall, white-woolly throughout.
+
Individual, erect, cottony stems grow 1-3 ft. tall and are often clumped together creating a bushy appearance. Narrow leaves are gray-green to woolly-white. Globular flowers are actually long-enduring, white, dry bracts arranged around a yellow center. Several evenly leafy woolly stems in a small patch are topped by a crowded, roundish cluster of flower heads with pearly-white bracts, sometimes with a dark spot at base of each outer bracts.
Leaves: Leaves lanceolate to narrowly oblong or linear, up to 12 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, sessile, less pubescent above, the margins often curled, little reduced upward.
+
The dried stalks with their pearly-white heads are attractive in floral arrangements. The pure white flower is commonly used in dried flower arrangements.  Good dried flowers; food plant for Painted lady butterflies.
Flowers: Heads up to 1 cm. wide, numerous and crowded in a short, broad inflorescence; involucre 5-7 mm. high, the bracts pearly-white, imbricate in several series, dry and papery; staminate flowers tubular, with undivided style, pistillate flowers tubular-filiform, with bifid style; pappus of distinct capillary bristles.
+
 
Fruit: Achenes covered with short, rounded, blunt projections.
+
  
 
===Distribution===
 
===Distribution===
Line 15: Line 14:
 
Dry to somewhat moist open areas, low to sub-alpine elevations.
 
Dry to somewhat moist open areas, low to sub-alpine elevations.
  
 +
===Uses===
 +
In folk medicine, it is used as a salve for burns. (Strickland)
  
  

Revision as of 12:15, 9 April 2012

Pearly everlasting

Family

Asteraceae

Plant Description

Individual, erect, cottony stems grow 1-3 ft. tall and are often clumped together creating a bushy appearance. Narrow leaves are gray-green to woolly-white. Globular flowers are actually long-enduring, white, dry bracts arranged around a yellow center. Several evenly leafy woolly stems in a small patch are topped by a crowded, roundish cluster of flower heads with pearly-white bracts, sometimes with a dark spot at base of each outer bracts. The dried stalks with their pearly-white heads are attractive in floral arrangements. The pure white flower is commonly used in dried flower arrangements. Good dried flowers; food plant for Painted lady butterflies.


Distribution

Widely distributed throughout Washington; occurring throughout North America except for portions of Midwest and Southeast

Habitat

Dry to somewhat moist open areas, low to sub-alpine elevations.

Uses

In folk medicine, it is used as a salve for burns. (Strickland)


Flower


Seed

Abbreviation: ANMA

Seed sample from 2010

Average Measurement: 0.6 x 0.2 x 0.2

Measurement Range: L: 0.4 - 0.75, W: 0.1 - 0.3, D: 0.1 - 0.3

Features

Shape: Seeds somewhat ribbed. Right above hilum, seed narrows considerably before flaring out again.

Color: Seed is brown. Hilum is glossy and puckered, lighter colored that rest of seed.

Additional Features: Pappus of downy white hairs significantly longer that seed itself.

Surface: Seed covered in clear globules and is slightly lustrous.

Could be confused with: Antennaria howellii

Latitudinal Cross Section: elliptical ANMA-lat-crosssection.png

Longitudinal Cross Section: elliptical ANMA-long-crosssection.png

Anaphalis margaritacea with pappus
Anaphalis margaritacea

Basic Explanations and Assumptions:

The dimensions for the seeds are length x width x depth. The location of the hilum is used as the base of the seed, and the length is measured from hilum to the opposite apex. Where a style is present, the length is measured from the hilum to the bottom of the style. Width is measured at a right angle to the length at the widest part. Depth is measured at a right angle to the intersection of height and width lines.

Measurements included are the mean average for each measurement of ten separate seeds.

All measurements in millimeters unless otherwise noted.