Parlin’s pussytoes

Parlin’s pussytoes is a small perennial plant species in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains. It is common in Minnesota.

Parlin’s pussytoes is found in a variety of open dry habitats, including fields, meadows, forest edges, and disturbed areas. It can tolerate dry conditions and poor soils, including rocky slopes and sand dunes.

Parlin’s pussytoes is commonly used as a ground cover due to its attractive foliage and low maintenance requirements.

Parlin’s pussytoes grows to about 10-30 cm tall. It produces a rosette of basal leaves and a single flowering stem. It flowers in late spring to early summer.

The stem is thin, erect, and hairy.

The leaves are grayish-green and oval with rounded tips. The upper and lower surfaces are covered in fine hairs. The margins are rolled under.

The inflorescence is a cluster of small, white or pinkish-white flowers that resemble cotton balls.

Each flower head is about 5-8 mm in diameter and composed of several small florets. The outermost florets are female and have a long, white bristle-like structure called a pappus, while the inner florets are bisexual and lack a pappus.

The fruit is a small, dry achene, which contains a single seed.

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.