Saturday, May 22, 2010



California cudweed
Gnaphalium californicum (aka Pseudognaphalium californicum)
Asteraceae

It's always fun finding a new plant that I have absolutely no idea what it is. Thanks to Rooted in California, I got a lead and looked into it. This plant is also called California everlasting or ladies' tobacco and can also be found under the genus Gnaphalium - maybe those who are in the know believe this isn't a real cudweed by adding pseudo. Simply based on online photos, the flower is superficially similar to pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea). I wonder if many online pictures are misidentified which creates some confusion for a novice like me. I do think this cudweed can be distinguished from pearly everlasting by the distinctive way how the leaf bases wrap around the stems and the slightly pointier buds.

ps 07/25/11 - As I've looked into a new post, Gnaphalium is the name used on Calflora.org. I haven't quite figured out why Jepson online is different from the 2nd edition in its acceptance of Pseudognaphalium as an alternative. In any case, I edited the scientific name above to include both possibilities.

2 comments:

Brad said...

Thanks for all the legwork. I'm pretty lazy about absolute ideas. I wish my pictures were better, but it looks like mine is in fact cudweed as well. I'll fix my post soon.

Katie (Nature ID) said...

No problem. Again, if it weren't for your post, I would not have known where to begin to look.