Weed Information: Antennaria plantaginifolia (pussytoes, plantainleaf)
Back to Plant List

Antennaria plantaginifolia (pussytoes, plantainleaf)

Family: Asteraceae

Description

A creeping perennial with wind blown seeds and male and female flowers on separate plants. The leaves oval and prominently veined and therefore resembling those of Plantago major (broadleaf plantain); hence the common name which is also the translation of the specific epithet.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Red (or pink)
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Corymb
  • Head
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • United > 75% of length
Petal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.8 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
  • more than 10 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)
Number of Styles
  • Styles lacking (male flowers only)
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • stamens lacking (female flowers only)
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
  • 1 carpel
Ovary Position
  • Inferior (epigynous)
Fruit Type
  • Achene
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • All basal
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Arcuate
  • Palmate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Elliptic
  • Lanceolate
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Tomentose
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Spreading ascending
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Fruit, seed, or spore wind borne
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leafless
  • Stem leaves greatly reduced
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Rhizomatous
  • Rooting at the nodes
  • Stoloniferous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • Oklahoma
  • South Dakota
Other
  • District of Columbia
Canadian Province or Territory
  • Nova Scotia
  • Quebec

  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 171
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 97
  • More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 156
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 426, 427
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 8
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 185
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 185
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 144
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
Back to Plant List