2. Antennaria parlinii Fernald (plainleaf pussytoes, ladies’ tobacco, Indian tobacco)

Pl. 293 i–m; Map 1133

Stolons short to relatively long, slender, densely woolly, leafy. Flowering stems (4–)9–28(–40) cm long, densely woolly, sometimes becoming glabrous in patches with age. Basal leaves 2.5–9.5 cm long, (8–)18–45 mm wide, oblanceolate to more commonly broadly obovate or circular-obovate, rounded to broadly pointed at the tip, often with a minute, abrupt, sharp point, tapered at the base, the upper surface glabrous to densely woolly, the undersurface densely woolly, with 3 or 5 main veins. Stem leaves 0.5–4.5 cm long, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, the lowermost often narrowly oblanceolate, mostly sharply pointed at the tip, the upper leaves often with a short, hairlike extension of the midvein, truncate or somewhat rounded at the base, the blade tissue not extending along the stem below the attachment point, densely woolly on both surfaces or the upper surface sometimes only moderately hairy. Involucre 7–13 mm long. Corollas 3.5–7.0 mm long. 2n=56, 84, 70, 112. April–June.

Common nearly throughout the state (eastern U.S. west to North Dakota and Texas; Canada). Mesic to dry upland forests, upland prairies, savannas, and ledges and tops of bluffs, less commonly glades, ditches, banks of streams and rivers, and margins of ponds and lakes; also pastures, roadsides, and open, disturbed areas.

Antennaria parlinii is one of the few flowering plants in Missouri that grows well in dry, shaded habitats (although it can tolerate sun), and it can be cultivated as a groundcover or rock garden plant in areas where gardeners may find it otherwise difficult to grow plants without supplemental irrigation. Native Americans used the species medicinally to treat gastrointestinal and gynecological pain (Moerman, 1998). It has been shown to represent a polyploid complex formed from past hybridization of diploid progenitor species followed by polyploidy and apomixis (Bayer, 1985b). The main diploids that have hybridized repeatedly in the creation of various subspecies and races of A. parlinii include A. plantaginifolia (L.) Richardson, A. solitaria (see above), and A. racemosa Hook. (presently restricted to the western United States and adjacent Canada). None of these has been documented from Missouri. However, Bayer and Stebbins (1982) mapped the occurrence of A. plantaginifolia (Pl. 293 n, o) from the far southeastern portion of the state. Randall Bayer (then of the University of Alberta) kindly checked his notes and was unable to substantiate the report, thus it is excluded from the Missouri flora for now. It does occur in adjacent portions of Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, so it should be searched for in Missouri in wooded uplands in the southeastern portion of the state. Antennaria plantaginifolia will key out to A. parlinii ssp. fallax in the key to subspecies below. Its basal leaves tend to be persistently hairy on the upper surface. Its stolons also tend to be somewhat shorter. Additionally, its heads (particularly the pistillate heads) are somewhat smaller than those of A. parlinii (pistillate involucre 5–7 mm vs. 7–10 mm long). In staminate plants, the corollas tend to be slightly shorter (2–4 mm vs. 3–5 mm long).

Bayer and Stebbins (1982) and Bayer (1985b) recognized two subspecies within A. parlinii, both of which occur in Missouri. Unfortunately the distinctions between the two are not always obvious. Assignment of many specimens to one subspecies or the other seems relatively arbitrary and various authors of recent floristic manuals have applied the names somewhat differently. The leaves of plants that start out hairy tend to become more glabrous as the season progresses. Also, the broader basal leaves tend to become more glabrous with age than the narrower ones. In Missouri, there are very few specimens in which the young basal leaves are totally glabrous.