TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993)	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California

ASTERACEAE

SUNFLOWER FAMILY

David J. Keil, Family Editor and author, except as specified

Annual to tree
Leaves basal or cauline, alternate to whorled, simple to compound
Inflorescence: 1° inflorescence a head, each resembling a flower, 1–many, generally arrayed in cymes, generally subtended by ± calyx-like involucre; flowers 1–many per head
Flowers bisexual, unisexual, or sterile, ± small, of several types; calyx 0 or modified into pappus of bristles, scales, or awns, which is generally persistent in fruit; corolla radial or bilateral (rarely 0), lobes generally (0)4–5; stamens 4–5, anthers generally fused into cylinder around style, often appendaged at tips, bases, or both, filaments generally free, generally attached to corolla near throat; pistil 1, ovary inferior, 1-chambered, 1-seeded, style 1, branches 2, generally hair-tufted at tip, stigmas 2, generally on inside of style branches
Fruit: achene, cylindric to ovoid, generally deciduous with pappus attached
Genera in family: ± 1300 genera, 21,000 species (largest family of dicots): worldwide. Largest family in CA. Also see tribal key to CA genera: Strother 1997 Madroño 44(1):1–28. See glossary p. 25 for illustrations of general family characteristics.

ANTENNARIA

PUSSY-TOES

G. Ledyard Stebbins and Randall J. Bayer

Perennial, often matted, dioecious; staminate plants generally present
Leaves alternate, entire, generally ± tomentose
Inflorescence: heads discoid or disciform, 1 or in cyme-like clusters; phyllaries many in several series, papery or membranous (staminate wider, more conspicuous); receptacle naked
Staminate flowers 2–5 mm; corollas white, yellow, or red; pappus bristle tips generally enlarged
Pistillate flowers 2–10 mm; corollas barely lobed, white, yellow or red
Fruit 0.5–3.5 mm, ± elliptic; pappus bristles many, soft, weakly barbed
Species in genus: ± 40 species: Am, n Eurasia
Etymology: (Latin: antenna)
Reference: [Bayer 1990 Can J Bot 68:1389–1397 and Madroño 37:171–183]
Many races reproduce by asexual seeds, their populations entirely pistillate plants.

Native

A. media Greene

Stems 5–13 cm; stolons many, matted
Leaves: basal 6–19 mm, ± linear to spoon-shaped, 1-veined, densely woolly; cauline 5–20 mm, linear
Inflorescence: heads 2–7; involucres 4–8 mm, base woolly; phyllaries narrow and acute (pistillate) or wide and blunt (staminate), upper part dark brownish black
Staminate flowers: corollas 2.8–4.5 mm
Pistillate flowers: corollas 3–4.5 mm
Fruit 0.6–1.6 mm, papillate or smooth; pappus 4–5.5 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=56,98,112
Ecology: High meadows, snow basins, ridges
Elevation: 1800–3900 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, High North Coast Ranges, High Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains
Distribution outside California: to sw Canada, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico
Flowering time: Jul–Aug
Synonyms: A. alpina (L.) Gaertn. var. m. (Greene) Jeps
Horticultural information: DRN, IRR, SUN: 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17; DFCLT.