Evergreen pussytoes facts for kids

The Antennaria suffrutescens is a special flowering plant. People often call it the evergreen pussytoes or evergreen everlasting. It belongs to the daisy family, just like sunflowers! This plant grows naturally in a small area. You can find it in southwestern Oregon (in Curry and Josephine Counties) and in far northeastern California (in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties). It likes to live in mountain conifer forests. Sometimes, it even grows on unusual serpentine soils.

What Does It Look Like?

The evergreen pussytoes is a plant that lives for many years. It has a strong, woody base. From this base, several straight stems grow. These stems can reach about 12 centimeters (about 5 inches) tall.

Its Leaves

At the bottom of the plant, the leaves are packed closely together. They are shaped like spoons. The tips of these leaves have small notches. The underside of the leaves feels woolly. Each leaf is about one centimeter long. A cool fact about these leaves is that they are evergreen. This means they stay on the plant all year round, even in winter!

Its Flowers

At the top of each stem, there is a single flower head. This flower head is surrounded by woolly white, leaf-like parts called phyllaries. The bases of these phyllaries are yellow-green.

How Does It Reproduce?

The evergreen pussytoes is a dioecious plant. This is a fancy word meaning that male and female flowers grow on separate plants.

Male and Female Plants

Female plants have slightly larger flower heads. These heads contain the female flowers. Male plants, on the other hand, produce the male flowers.

Seeds and Fruit

After the flowers bloom, a small, dry fruit called an achene forms. This achene can be up to a centimeter long. Most of its length comes from a long, fluffy top part called a pappus. The actual seed is a small, hard body attached to this pappus. The fluffy pappus helps the wind carry the seeds away.