Gnaphalium palustre
Encyclopedia
Gnaphalium palustre is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 known by the common name western marsh cudweed. It is native to much of western North America, where it is common in many habitats. This is an annual herb growing erect stems which may be short or up to about 30 centimeters tall. The stems and foliage are nearly white due to their coating of woolly hairs. The leaves are small and lance-shaped to scoop-shaped. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

 holds a cluster of flower heads
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....

 in a nest of woolly fibers. Each head has brownish to pale yellowish phyllaries
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...

surrounding a center of many tiny flowers.

External links

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