Littleleaf Pussytoes

Antennaria microphylla is a primary sexual progenitor of the A. rosea polyploid agamic complex (R. J. Bayer 1990b). A. Cronquist (1955) included A. rosea within his circumscription of A. microphylla. It is preferable to recognize sexual diploids as distinct from their morphologically discrete hybrid apomictic derivatives. Antennaria microphylla is always dioecious and has stems distally stipitate-glandular and white phyllaries; A. rosea is always gynoecious and has stems without glandular hairs and phyllaries only occasionally white.

Some authors (A. E. Porsild 1950; E. H. Moss 1959; Porsild and W. J. Cody 1980) have recognized A. nitida as distinct; comparisons of the nomenclatural types of the two show that they are conspecific. Antennaria microphylla has allelopathic properties (G. D. Manners and D. S. Galitz 1985).

Dioecious. Plants 9–30 cm (stems stipitate-glandular distally). Stolons 1–5 cm. Basal leaves 1-nerved, spatulate, 6–16 × 2–6 mm, tips mucronate, faces silvery gray-pubescent. Cauline leaves linear, 5–25 mm, not flagged (apices acute). Heads 6–13 in corymbiform arrays. Involucres: staminate 5–6.5 mm; pistillate 5.5–7 mm. Phyllaries distally bright white to light yellow. Corollas: staminate 2.5–3 mm; pistillate 3–4.3 mm. Cypselae 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous or sparingly papillate; pappi: staminate 3–4 mm; pistillate 3–5 mm. 2n = 28.

Antennaria bracteosa Rydberg; A. microphylla Lunell var. solstitialis Lunell; A. nitida Greene; A. rosea Greene var. nitida (Greene) Breitung; A. solstitialis Lunell

littleleaf pussytoes
dwarf everlasting
pink pussytoes
rosy pussytoes
small pussytoes

More info for the terms: achene, cyme, forb, fruit

Littleleaf pussytoes is a stoloniferous, mat-forming, perennial forb. Stems
are generally 1.6 to 12 inches (4-30 cm) tall. Leaves are spoon-shaped
or narrowly oblong and simple, alternate, and mostly basal. Cauline
leaves are reduced upwards. The inflorescence is a congested to open
cyme with 2 to 13 heads. The fruit is an achene 0.03 to 0.05 inch
(0.08-0.12 cm) long [12,16,28]. Stolons are usually 0.4 to 2 inches
(1-5 cm) long [1].

Littleleaf pussytoes is distributed from Alaska east to Ontario and south to
California, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nebraska [1,12,13,16,28].

More info for the terms: fire regime, seed

Littleleaf pussytoes colonizes bare mineral soil from light, wind-dispersed
seed [21,22].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

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More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

Hemicryptophyte

Littleleaf pussytoes is found in dry, open habitats including plains, hills,
open woods, and dry meadows [9,12,13]. It is found at elevations
of 6,000 to 11,400 feet (1,830-3,450 m) in Utah and 5,000 to 11,000 feet
(1,500-3,300 m) in Colorado [13,28]. In west-central Montana, rosy
pussytoes is found from the valley floor to alpine zones [16].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

16 Aspen
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
213 Grand fir
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
237 Interior ponderosa pine
238 Western juniper

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES44 Alpine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: forest, woodland

K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K052 Alpine meadows and barren
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K068 Wheatgrass - grama - buffalograss

More info for the term: forest

Littleleaf pussytoes is probably killed by moderate or severe fires. However,
no marked littleleaf pussytoes plants were killed by low-severity spring or
fall prescribed fires in mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata
spp. vaseyana)/rough fescue (Festuca scabrella), mountain big
sagebrush/Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratense), or Douglas-fir/mountain big
sagebrush vegetation types in the Helena National Forest, Montana [20].

Littleleaf pussytoes is eaten by Columbia ground squirrels [17], but is
generally of low forage value [3].

More info for the term: grassland

Some species associated with littleleaf pussytoes in sagebrush or grassland
habitats include Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), rough fescue
(Festuca scabrella), needle-and-thread grass (Stipa comata), bluebunch
wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum
smithii), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa
secunda), prairie junegrass (Koeleria cristata), cheatgrass (Bromus
tectorum), threadleaf sedge (Carex filifolia), lupine (Lupinus spp.),
western yarrow (Achillea millefolium), buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), phlox
(Phlox spp.), and fleabane (Erigeron spp.) [3,8,25,26].

More info for the term: forb

Forb

More info for the terms: cover, habitat type, herbaceous, scarification, wildfire

Littleleaf pussytoes does not survive mechanical scarification but can
colonize bare scarified soil. Herbaceous layers dominated by rosy
pussytoes in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)/pinegrass
(Calamagrostis rubescens) habitat types in central Idaho occur on
scarified, cool, dry sites where the herbaceous layer is depauperate.
Littleleaf pussytoes in this habitat type has the following responses to
different silvicultural practices: a minor increase in vegetative
growth after clearcutting with no subsequent site preparation; a major
decrease in canopy cover after shelterwood cuts followed by mechanical
scarification; a major decrease in canopy cover and a minor increase in
seedling establishment after clearcutting followed by mechanical
scarification; and a minor decrease in canopy cover after wildfire and
after clearcutting followed by broadcast burning [22].

Littleleaf pussytoes is often present in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides)
stands heavily grazed by cattle and deer in Wyoming [6]. Under light to
moderate grazing in central Idaho, it dominates the herbaceous layer of
Douglas-fir/ pinegrass habitat types [22]. Pussytoes (Antennaria spp.)
generally increase in response to grazing [26].

The herbicide 2,4-D caused light damage (1-33% kill) to littleleaf pussytoes
when it was sprayed on nearby sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) [4].

AK AZ CA CO ID MN MT NE NV NM
ND OR SD UT WA WY AB BC MB ON
SK YT

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Littleleaf pussytoes flowers from the end of May to July [5,12].

More info for the terms: cover, fire severity, forest, severity

The response of littleleaf pussytoes to fire probably depends on site
characteristics and fire severity. It is a major early seral species
following fires in subalpine fir/beargrass habitat types in central
Idaho [21]. Littleleaf pussytoes was first observed in postfire year 3
following the severe Sundance Forest Fire in northern Idaho [23]. In
Douglas-fir stands in the Deerlodge National Forest, Montana, rosy
pussytoes decreased 22.5 percent in the first 2 postfire years after
spring fires [7]. In sagebrush habitats in Idaho littleleaf pussytoes
decreased the first years following September prescribed fires, but then
increased and regained much of its original cover. Production was
greater on lightly burned or moderately burned sites than on either
unburned or severely burned sites 15 years after the fires [3].

More info for the term: secondary colonizer

Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

More info for the terms: dioecious, seed

Littleleaf pussytoes reproduces from seed or spreads vegetatively through
stolons. Seeds are light and wind dispersed. They are generally
not stored in soil seedbanks [22]. Littleleaf pussytoes is dioecious [1,16].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

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More info for the terms: climax, eruption

Facultative Seral Species

Littleleaf pussytoes is found in disturbed areas as well as stable climax
communities. It was present on thin mud and tephra in the first 2 years
following the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington [29].
It invades heavily grazed sagebrush-grassland communities in Nevada
[25]. In central Idaho littleleaf pussytoes is a major early seral species in
subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)/beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) habitat
types [21] and a prominent mid-seral species in Douglas-fir/pinegrass
habitat types, where it persists beneath a partial canopy [22]. It also
occurs in seral and climax trembling aspen communities in Utah [18].

Antennaria rosea Rydb. [12,13,16,28]
Antennaria arida Nels. [13,14]
Antennaria nitida Greene [30]
Antennaria bracteosa Rydb. [30]
Antennaria solstitialis Lunell [30]

More info for the term: apomixis

The currently accepted scientific name for littleleaf pussytoes is Antennaria
microphylla Rydb. [13,14,16,28]. Antennaria is a taxonomically complex
genus due to a high degree of apomixis, polyploidy, and hybridization.
Antennaria microphylla is a highly variable species and many segregates
have been named, although none appear to warrant taxonomic recognition
[12]. Littleleaf pussytoes is often confused with A. rosea Greene because of
frequent hybridization. These two species have been treated as the same
entity by some authorities, but it has recently been determined that
they are taxonomically distinct [30]. Littleleaf pussytoes also frequently
hybridizes with umbrinella pussytoes (A. umbrinella) [16,30] and alpine
pussytoes (A. alpina) [16].

Antennaria microphylla (littleleaf pussytoes, rosy pussytoes, pink pussytoes, small pussytoes, dwarf everlasting) is a stoloniferous perennial forb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across northern and western North America, from Alaska and the three Canadian Arctic territories east to Quebec and south to Minnesota, New Mexico, and California.

Antennaria microphylla can be found growing in plains, hills, dry meadow, and open wood habitats. It is a small herb with male and female flowers on separate plants. It grows from 1.2 to 12 inches (3.0 to 30.5 cm) with spoon shaped or oblong leaves; it blossoms from late May to July. The Columbian ground squirrel feeds on Litteleaf pussytoes.