Astragalus gilviflorus

Antennaria microphya

Small-leaved Everlasting

Female Plant
Cypress Hills West Block
08-July-2003

The stem leaves are usually closely appressed against the stem; they have been spread somewhat for this photo.

This species is referred to as A. parvifolia in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta. However, the specific epithet parvifolia should actually be used for the species named A. aprica in the above floras. A. microphylla is a primary sexual progenitor of A. rosea, but is not closely related to A. aprica. Even so, A. microphylla and A. aprica are easily confused in the field. See the entries on this web site for A. Aprica for some side-by-side photos. For further discussion, see Flora of North America.

The following are answers to questions in keys from Budd's Flora (BF) and Flora of Alberta (FOA).

Microphylla: Answers to key questions leading to this species.

plants often 10-30 cm tall, slender

plants mat-forming

plants with prostrate stolons, leafy throughout; stolons NOT whip-like and ending in leafy rosettes

plants with greatly reduced stem leaves

basal leaves in well-developed, appressed rosettes

stems with 8 to 12 leaves

(rosette) leaves usually small, ovate to spatulate; NOT linear-lanceolate (BF)

lower (rosette) leaves broad, small; NOT narrowly oblanceolate (FOA)

rosette leaves to 25 mm long, usually less than 10 mm wide

rosette leaves densely pubescent on both sides

inflorescence more or less crowded at the top of the stem

heads on short peduncles or subsessile, in corymbs

pistillate involucres 4-7 mm high

involucral bracts woolly at the base

involucral bracts green or whitish at the base, with NO large dark spot at the base

involucral bracts with white or yellowish white tips; if slightly pink when young, not persistently so

Antennaria: Answers to key questions leading to this genus.

juice watery

low plants

plants more or less white-woolly

fibrous-rooted perennials, often with rhizomes or stolons, but without a taproot

none of the leaves cordate or sagittate

basal leaves generally forming a conspicuous, persistent tuft

stems seldom very leafy, often stoloniferous

leaves mostly basal, with stem leaves reduced

involucral bracts dry, thin, scarious, parchmenty or membranous, not green

involucral bracts with white, yellow, or brown tips

receptacle naked

flower heads with all florets tubular (discoid heads)

outer flowers, or all flowers of some heads, pistillate

strictly dioecious (staminate plants rare in some species)

pappus of numerous capillary bristles, sometimes plumose