Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Pearly Everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea
Aster family (Asteraceae)

Pearly Everlasting's pale green leaves often contrast with the surrounding vegetation making the plant fairly easy to pick out. The flowers dry well and are a favorite in floral arrangements. Pearly Everlasting may be confused with Pussytoes, but Pearly Everlasting has leaves distributed along the stem, lacks , and is taller with a larger flowerhead than most Pussytoes. "Anaphalis" is from a Greek name for a similar plant and "margaritacea" is Latin for "pearl."


©2008 Franz Xaver

Description

, 8-36" tall, with white-woolly, leafy stems topped by round dense clusters of flowerheads with pearly-white . Flowers are comprised of white papery surrounding yellow-brown flowers. Leaves are along the length of the stem, - to , with dense, hairy undersides and a conspicuous mid-vein.

Field Marks

Gray-green leaves with round clusters of white flowers, often with yellow to brown centers.

© Al Schneider

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

Bracts are modified leaves associated with a flower.

Involucre is the name given to the circle or spiral collection of bracts around a flower-cluster.

disc flowers are those in the center of a sunflower or daisy. Not a ray flower.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

lanceolate -- Lance-shaped. Long, wider in the middle.

linear -- Long and very narrow like a blade of grass.