genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with a few species (''A. chilensis'', ''A. linearifolia'', ''A. sleumeri'') in temperate southern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
; the highest species diversity is in North America. Common names include catsfoot or cat's-foot, pussytoes and everlasting.
Different ''Antennaria'' species reach between 10 cm and 50 cm in height. The leaves are basal and often stem leaves. The name ''Antennaria'' refers to the projecting stamens seen on the male
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s of some species, resembling
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
antennae.
''Antennaria'' species are used as food plants by the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
...
Vanessa virginiensis
The American painted lady or American lady (''Vanessa virginiensis'')Coleophora pappiferella'' (which feeds exclusively on ''A. dioica''), '' Schinia verna'' (which feeds on several ''Antennaria'' species).
File:Antennaria_dioica.jpg, ''Antennaria dioica''
File:Antennaria neglecta runners.JPG, Field pussytoes (''Antennaria neglecta'') in spring, with flowerbuds and runners