Antennaria howellii

Last updated

Antennaria howellii
Antennaria howellii subsp. canadensis.jpg
Canadian pussytoes
A. howellii subsp. canadensis
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Antennaria
Species:
A. howellii
Binomial name
Antennaria howellii
Synonyms [1]
Synonymy
  • Antennaria callilepisGreene
  • Antennaria eximiaGreene
  • Antennaria canadensisGreene, syn of subsp. canadensis
  • Antennaria isabellina(Greene) Greene ex House, syn of subsp. canadensis
  • Antennaria randiiFernald, syn of subsp. canadensis
  • Antennaria spathulata(Fernald) Fernald, syn of subsp. canadensis
  • Antennaria neodioicaGreene, syn of subsp. neodioica
  • Antennaria obovataE.E.Nelson, syn of subsp. neodioica
  • Antennaria rhodanthaFernald, syn of subsp. neodioica
  • Antennaria rupicolaFernald, syn of subsp. neodioica
  • Antennaria russelliiBoivin, syn of subsp. neodioica
  • Antennaria grandis(Fernald) House, syn of subsp. neodioica
  • Antennaria appendiculataFernald, syn of subsp. petaloidea
  • Antennaria concolorPiper, syn of subsp. petaloidea
  • Antennaria pedicellataGreene, syn of subsp. petaloidea
  • Antennaria petaloidea(Fernald) Fernald, syn of subsp. petaloidea
  • Antennaria stenolepisGreene, syn of subsp. petaloidea

Antennaria howellii, the everlasting or Howell's pussytoes, [2] [3] is a North American species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to northern Alaska, much of Canada including the Arctic territories, and the northern United States as far south as northern California, Colorado and North Carolina. [4]

Contents

Antennaria howellii is an evergreen perennial plant. The form is usually basal rosettes, largely clonally propagated. The basal rosette leaves are 2–4 cm long and 6–12 mm broad, light green and spatulate, with a thin arm and a broad tip with a point. They have woolly white undersides. The flowerheads appear in May, on a stem 15–35 cm tall with smaller, slender leaves 1–4 cm long. It is commonly seen growing under pine stands. [2]

Subspecies [1] [2]

The plant is named for American botanist Thomas J. Howell, who collected the first known specimens of the plant in 1887. [5]

Conservation status in the United States

The petaloidea subspecies is listed as a special concern and believed extirpated in Connecticut. [6]

Native American ethnobotany

The Nuxalk Nation take a decoction of leaves for body pain, but not pain in the limbs. [7] The Ojibwe take an infusion of the neodioica subspecies after childbirth to purge afterbirth and to heal. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Search results — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org.
  2. 1 2 3 "Antennaria howellii in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org.
  3. "Antennaria howellii Calflora". www.calflora.org.
  4. "Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map".
  5. Greene, Edward Lee 1897. Pittonia 3(16C): 174 description and commentary in English
  6. "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 13 January 2018. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
  7. Smith, Harlan I., 1929, Materia Medica of the Bella Coola and Neighboring Tribes of British Columbia, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 56:47–68, page 65
  8. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327–525, page 363