''Antennaria luzuloides'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

known by the common name rush pussytoes. The species is native to western

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(

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British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

) and the western

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(

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, northern

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, and a few isolated populations in

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).Calflora taxon report, University of California, ''Antennaria luzuloides'' Torrey & A. Gray rush pussytoes, silvery brown pussytoes
/ref> ''Antennaria luzuloides'' is a perennial herb growing greenish white or gray erect stems from a small woody

caudex A caudex (: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most ...

. It reaches a maximum height of about 25 centimeters. There is a basal patch of grayish woolly leaves each a few centimeters long and linear in shape to somewhat spoon-shaped. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

holds up to 30 rounded

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

each less than a centimeter wide. The head is lined with narrow, pointed

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one o ...

. The species is

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with male and female plants producing different flower types. The fruit is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

up to about 6 millimeters in length including a long, soft pappus.Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 397 Rush or silvery brown pussytoes, ''Antennaria luzuloides'' Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 2: 430. 1843
/ref> ;Subspecies * ''Antennaria luzuloides'' subsp. ''luzuloides'' – most of species range * ''Antennaria luzuloides'' subsp. ''aberrans'' (E.E.Nelson) R.J.Bayer & Stebbins –

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUnited States Department of Agriculture Plants ProfileCalphotos Photo gallery, University of California
luzuloides Plants described in 1843 Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the North-Central United States {{Gnaphalieae-stub