Pearly everlasting
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth. & Hook. f.
Common name(s): pearly everlasting, western pearly everlasting
Link(s): USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- in flower, late July
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- in pruned blueberry field
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- true flowers are yellow, bracts are white
Description:
– perennial
– generally flowers July-September in Maine
– white “flowers” are actually papery bracts surrounding small yellow flowers
-leaves are:
- simple
- alternate
– may be confused with Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-disturbed areas
-meadows and fields
-river shores
Natural History:
-native to North America and Asia
-ornamental use
-used as a tobacco substitute by indigenous people
-many medical uses to treat:
- burns
- colds
- coughs
- swelling
- asthma
Source(s):
Hansen, R.W., S.B. Hansen and E.A. Osgood. 1991. Reproductive phenologies of selected flowering plants in eastern Maine forests. ME Agric. Exp. Station Tech. Bull. 143. 17 pp.
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.
Go Botany. “Anaphalis Margaritacea (L.) Benth. & Hook. f.” Anaphalis Margaritacea (Pearly Everlasting): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/anaphalis/margaritacea/.