Antennaria monocephala DC.
one-headed pussytoes (pygmy pussytoes)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Ryan Batten     (Photo ID #23761)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Antennaria monocephala
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb, mat-forming with stolons 2-4.5 cm long; stems erect, few, simple, glandular, 2-16 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves spoon-shaped to oblanceolate, gradually stalked, 5-20 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, grey woolly-hairy to glabrate below, usually green glabrous or glabrescent above, 1-nerved; stem leaves similar, becoming unstalked, linear, reduced upwards with prominent papery tips.
Flowers:
Heads solitary (rarely 2-3), terminal; involucres of 2 types, the female ones 4-8 mm tall with hairy bases, the male ones similar, 3.5-7 mm tall; involucral bracts lanceolate, the upper papery portion brown, dark brown, black or olivaceous; female flowers 3.5-4.0 mm long, male flowers 2.5-3.5 mm long.
Fruits:
Female achenes 1-1.4 mm long, usually glabrous, the pappus white with hairlike bristles, 4-5 mm long; male pappus hairs club-shaped and toothed at the the tips, 2.5-3.5 mm long.
Notes:
Two subspecies have recently been recognized for YT (Bayer 1996). Both taxa are also found in BC but often are indistinguishable in herbaria material since separation depends mainly on the presence or absence of male flowers. Female and male plants are equally common in populations of the ssp. monocephala while male plants are lacking in the strictly northern ssp. angustata. The collecter should make a note of this feature in the field if the separation recognized by Bayer and Stebbins (1993) is desired. Only the ssp. monocephala may sometimes be verified in the herbaria.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Antennaria monocephala

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1741 14 2430
Slope Gradient (%)
15 0 85

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

146 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
274
Modal BEC Zone Class
BAFA

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

AT(1), BAFA(232), BWBS(1), cma(1), ESSF(9), IMA(12), SWB(14)

Habitat and Range

Moist to mesic meadows and snowbed sites in the subalpine and alpine zones; common in N BC, infrequent in E BC; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT and E to NF; E Asia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia