04.15.20 Pussy Toes

Once a child sees this flower up close she will never forget it. At one stage the flower looks like the furry soft buttons of a cat’s paw. This is Plantain Leaf Pussytoes, Antennaria plantaginifolia, a spring-blooming wildflower most often found in our lawn. Folks who chemically treat their lawns will miss out on this interesting little flower, considering it to be a noxious weed. But children love these blossoms. Learning about this plant I find that these flowers actually come in a male (staminate) and a female (pistillate) form, unlike plants that combine the stamens and pistils in one flower. The female flowers are tall and have the remarkable pussytoe characteristic. The male flowers, which produce the pollen are low and look almost like tiny daisies before the stamens appear.

The male, staminate, flowers before the stamens have emerged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The female, pistillate, flowers which look so much like a kitten’s soft-buttoned feet.

 

 

 

 

 

An illustration the two-flowered Antennaria plant from Bilder ur Nordens Flora, 1922-26.