Antennaria media
Alpine pussytoes
Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native
Alpine pussytoes is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and White and Inyo Mountains in alpine meadows, snow basins, and mountain ridges at elevations of 1,800 to 3,900 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces white flowers in small clusters of 2 to 7 heads. Growing with compact stems 5 to 13 centimeters tall, it forms extensive mats through numerous spreading stolons. Its basal leaves are densely gray-woolly, linear to spoon-shaped, ranging from 6 to 19 millimeters long, while cauline leaves are narrow and linear. The plant's distinctive phyllaries are narrow and pointed in pistillate flowers, with dark brown or black tips that contrast against the plant's soft, gray foliage.
Habitat: Meadows, snow basins, ridges
Bloom period: Jul-Aug
Elevation: 1800-3900 m
Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaRH, SNH, SnBr, W&I
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.