Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants

Class: Magnoliopsida -- dicots

Family: Asteraceae -- sunflower

Common Name: western pearly-everlasting

Species Code: ANMA

Origin: Native to moist areas such as meadows and open places in forests over most of North America except the southeastern US.

Rare: no

Form: forb; erect, 20-90cm tall, stems tomentose.

Duration: perennial

Longevity: short-lived

Habitat Type: forest

Wetland Indicator Status: not listed

Leaves: alternate, lanceolate, tomentose on lower surface, 2-15 cm long, margins revolute, mid-vein conspicuous.

Mature height: 8-36 inches

Flowers: disc flowers yellow, dioecious, ray flowers lacking; involucral bracts dry, white.

Flowers color: yellow, white (the white portion actually being the involucral bracts)

Fruit: achene, to 1 mm., pappus of white capillary bristles.

Vegetation type: mostly a species of the forest, where it rapidly colonizes disturbed areas such as roadsides.

Characteristics:
Reproduces both sexually by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes.
Plants are generally dioecious, but occasionally polygamodieocious.
8,200,000 seeds/lb (Hassell et al 1996, USDA NRCS Plants Database 2009).
2n=28 (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993, Baldwin et al 2004).
x=7, 2n=28 (University of British Columbia 2003).
Native peoples had medicinal uses (Parish et al 1996, Moerman 2003).
Dried flowers are used in floral arrangements.
Seeds are dispersed by wind.
Anaphalis margaritacea is a host for the larva of the grey hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) (Pocewicz 2005).

Sun requirement: full sun to partial shade

Soil moisture: mesic

Precipitation: 10-35 inches (USDA NRCS Plants Database 2009).

Fire: Recolonizes burn sites from seed in 5-10 years (Patterson 1985).

Sowing time: spring

Transplant time: spring

Stratification: none needed

Seed harvest: medium difficult

Seed first harvest: second season

Seed cleaning: difficult

Seed size: very small

Seed harvest date: August

Herbaria: Specimen data and digital resources from The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

Propagation:
7 protocols in the Native Plant Network
Other Propagation Information
Dry stored seeds germinate at higher rates in light (Buhler & Hoffman 1999).
Seeds of female plants germinate without difficulty (Kruckeberg 1996).
Sow directly in the ground or in containers in the spring. Seed should only be barely covered (Rose et al 1998).
No stratification required (Link 1992).
Reproduces both sexually by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes.

References:
Baldwin, B.G., S. Boyd, B.J. Ertter, D.J. Keil, R.W. Patterson, T.J. Rosatti, and D.H. Wilken (eds). 2004. Jepson Online Interchange for California Floristics. University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Accessed 7/16/09 online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html

Buhler, Douglas D., and Melinda L. Hoffman. 1999. Andersen's Guide to Practical Methods of Propagating Weeds and Other Plants. Weed Science Society of America. Lawrence, Kansas. 248 pp.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 7+ vols. New York and Oxford. Oxford University Press. Accessed 7/16/09 online at http://www.fna.org/FNA/

Hassell, Wendell, W. Rocky Beavers, Steve Ouellette, and Thomas Mitchell. 1996. Seeding Rate Statistics for Native and Introduced Species. US Dept of Interior and USDA, NRCS. Denver, CO.

Kruckeberg, Arthur R. 1996. Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA.

Link, Ellen (ed.). 1993. Native Plant Propagation Techniques for National Parks Interim Guide. USDA, NRCS, Rose Lake Plant Materials Center. East Lansing, MI.

Moerman, Dan. 2003. Native American Ethnobotany: a Database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American Peoples, Derived from Plants. University of Michigan-Dearborn. Online at http://herb.umd.umich.edu/ Accessed 12/31/07.

Parish, Roberta, Ray Coupe, and Dennis Lloyd. 1996. Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Patterson, Patricia A, Kenneth E. Neiman, and Jonalea R. Tonn. 1985. Field Guide to Forest Plants of Northern Idaho. USDA Forest Service Intermountain Research Station. General Technical Report INT-180. Ogden, Utah.

Pocewicz, Amy. 2005. Host Plants of Palouse Butterfly Species. 2 page handout to accompany the April 2005 presentation to the Palouse Prairie Foundation.

Rose, Robin, Caryn E.C. Chachulski, and Diane L. Haase. 1998. Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR.

University of British Columbia. 2003. British Columbia Flora. University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research. Online at http://www.bcflora.org/ Accessed 1/1/06.

USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 16 July 2009). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Links:
Plant Profile from the USDA PLANTS Database
Species description from Flora of North America
Species information from the University of Washington Herbarium