Plants of Southern New Jersey

Photos by Renee Brecht

Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River

Plant Profile

Antennaria neglecta Greene

field pussytoes


Photos by Renee Brecht		Britton and Brown. See credits below.**

Botanical name:

Antennaria neglecta Greene

Common name:

field pussytoes

Synonomy:

Antennaria angustiarum Lunell
Antennaria athabascensis Green
Antennaria campestris Rydb.
Antennaria chelonica Lunell
Antennaria erosa Greene
Antennaria howellii Greene var. athabascensis
Antennaria howellii Greene var. campestris
Antennaria longifolia Greene
Antennaria lunellii Greene
Antennaria nebraskensis Greene
Antennaria purvula Green
Antennaria wilsonii Greene

Group:

dicot

Family:

Asteraceae

Growth Type:

forb/herb

Duration:

perennial

Origin:

native

Plant height:

4-14'

Foliage:

basal leaves, spoon shaped or narrowly oval, broader toward tip, 1-2", densely hairy below, sparsely hairy on top;
stem leaves, 3-10, smaller.
forms mats; leaves have 1 vein

Flower:

small, white fuzzy heads, heads several and terminal, 1/4-3/8"

Flowering/fruiting time

bloom mid April to late June, most in May

Habitat:

dry sterile open ground of fields, lawns, thin woods and edges

Range in New Jersey:

statewide; infrequent in pine barrens

Heritage ranking if any:

n/a

Distribution

Misc.:

Clemants and Gracie say "Pussytoes are a small group of difficult species. The male and female parts are produced on different types of heads on different plants. The female heads are often fuzzier. They are somewhat related to cudweeds. Critical characters are leaf shape, venation, and head number" ( Wildflowers in th Field and Forest, p 374)

In NJ:

Antennaria neglecta-leaves with 1 vein
Antennaria plantaginifolia-leaves with 3-5 veins

There is a wide variability within this species. The flowers dry well. Hough states that the seeds are edible and that the gum from the stalk may be chewed.

Antennaria: from the Latin antenna, because of the resemblance of the male flowers to insect antennae
neglecta: neglected or overlooked

Visited by small bees and flies-Halictid bees; Andrenid bees; Syrphid flies; and the foliage is larval food for caterpillars of the American painted lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis).

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Sources

**USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 2: 572.