Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Antennaria rosea is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name rosy pussytoes. It is native to much of North America, including most of Canada and the western United States. It is a plant of many habitats, from dry to wet climates and low elevation to very high. It is a very morphologically diverse species; individuals can look very different. It is polyploid and exhibits apomixis; most all the plants are female and they reproduce asexually. This is a perennial herb which grows to heights anywhere between about 10 and 40 centimeters. It has a network of short stolons by which it spreads, its method of vegetative reproduction. It forms a basal patch of woolly grayish leaves 1 to 4 centimeters long. The flower cluster contains several flower heads in a cluster. Each head is lined with wide, pointed phyllaries which are often rose in color, the trait that gives the species its name, but they may also be white, yellowish, or brownish. The species is dioecious, but since most of the individuals are female, most bear flower heads containing pistillate flowers. The fruit is an achene with a body less than 2 millimeters long and a pappus which may be 6 or 7 millimeters long. The plant often produces fertile seeds, but most individuals in most populations are clones. Plants are sometimes fertilized with pollen from other Antennaria species, which may bring new genes into an A. rosea population, increasing the genetic diversity amongst the clones.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

4 - 16 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Pink, Cream

Sun

Partial Shade

Water

Low

Site type

Woods, meadow edges, rocks, dry ridges

Plant communities

Alpine Fell-Fields, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 4 likely

Confirmed Likely

White-spotted Midget

Eutricopis nexilis

Pussy's Toes Pyrausta

Pyrausta unifascialis

Telethusia ovalis

American Lady

Vanessa virginiensis