About Antennaria dimorpha (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray
Antennaria dimorpha is a small, mat-forming perennial herb that grows in flat patches from a thick, branching caudex. Its leaves are spoon-shaped, reaching up to about one centimeter long. They are green in color but covered with long, gray hairs. Its erect inflorescences are only a few centimeters tall, and flowers often appear nestled among the plant’s foliage. Each stem holds a single flower head, lined with phyllaries marked by patches of dark brown and green. This species is dioecious: male plants produce heads of staminate flowers, while female plants produce heads of larger pistillate flowers. The fruit it produces is an achene equipped with a long, soft, barbed pappus. Older individuals sometimes develop a dead area at the center of their mat, with new growth forming a ring along the outer edge. This plant grows in dry, open locations including scablands, sagebrush desert, and ponderosa pine forest openings, and it often occurs on very rocky soils.
