Are Pussytoes Really Flowers?

A Walk in the Woods

Rosy Pussytoes (Antennaria rosea) are one of my favorite wildflowers. You might ask why, since they're pretty small in every aspect. I love them because they are tough little buggers and can grow in extreme habitats. I can't tell you how many times I have been hiking in rocky, mountainous terrain and been delighted by their sweet, pink nodding flowers. They also grow throughout our valley in the forest and grasslands.

Rosy pussytoes are in the Composite Family (Asteraceae). Flowers in this family are usually composed of a "composite" of two different flowers – ray and disk– and sometimes, just disk flowers. To understand what I mean, grab a magnifying glass and look closely at a daisy. Pull a petal off and you'll see a wee little "ray" flower tucked into the fold of the petal where it was attached. Then look at the center of the daisy and you'll see many individual "disk" flowers lacking petals.

Rosy pussytoes only have disk flowers. The flowers have pink bracts, thus their rosy color. Their leaves form a soft, grayish blue mat on the ground.

The cool thing about rosy pussytoes, and all species of pussytoes, is that they can reproduce asexually. This means the flowers can produce seeds without being pollinated and their offspring are therefore genetically identical to the parent plant. Pussytoes especially rely on this technique in harsh, alpine environments because the weather is often horrible when they are flowering and pollinators are nowhere to be found. What a great adaptation!

I have come to rely on rosy pussytoes in my efforts to create a deer-proof wildflower garden. They're super easy to transplant, don't need tons of water, create a lovely ground cover and don't seem to appeal to our hungry ungulates – at least not yet...

 

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