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Antennaria plantaginifolia - plantainleaf pussytoes

Plantainleaf Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)​ is a perennial herb that grows from 4 to 16 inches tall. The leaves are basal and alternate on the stem, 1 to 3 inches long, widely spatulate, and entire. Most are 3-nerved. They are pale green above and wooly beneath. The flowers are dioecious (male and female flowers are on different plants). 

The disc-shaped flowers are white or purplish. The female plants have involucral bracts from 0.2 to 0.3" long, white tipped with a purplish base. The male involucral bracts are smaller with broad, conspicuous, white tips, discoid heads in clusters of 3 to 21. Present from April to June in dry soils of open woods and roadsides throughout the eastern US. 

The fruits are shiny, brown, resin-dotted achenes; the pappus a tuft of whitish bristles.  

The name pussytoes comes from the resemblance of the flower heads to cats' paws. They are also known by other common names including Dog's Toes, Ladies Chewing Tobacco, Love's Test, Mouse's Ear, Pincushions, and Poverty Weed. This plant has traditionally been used in a tea to treat lung ailments. It was also boiled in milk to treat diarrhea and dysentery. The chewed leaves were also applied to bruises, swellings, and sprains. Rumor has it that, for a small fee, Native Americans would allow themselves to be bitten by venomous snakes and then cure themselves with this herb.


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  • Home
  • Animals
    • Birds >
      • Avian Taxonomy
      • Bird Species Profiles
    • Mammal Species Profiles
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians >
      • Frog and Toad Species Profiles
    • Fish
    • Arthropods >
      • Arthropod Species Profiles
  • Plants
    • Native Plant Societies
    • Eastern Plant Identification Guide
  • Fungi
    • Fungi Species Profiles
  • Protists
  • Nature Products Store
  • Cell Phone Ringtones
  • Madbird Feeder Cam
  • Ramblings of the Madbird Biologist
  • Bird Videos
  • News in Science
  • Nature Inspired Recipes
  • An Introduction to Scientific Classification and Naming
  • Birds in the Classroom
  • Resources
  • About Me