''Euchiton involucratus'', the common cudweed, is an herb in the tribe
Gnaphalieae within the family
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 ...
. It is native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and sparingly naturalized in a few scattered locations in the United States (
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
+
).
''Euchiton involucratus'' is a biennial or perennial herb up to 40 cm (16 inches) tall, spreading by means of
stolons
In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...
running along the surface of the ground. Stems are usually unbranched, covered with white woolly hairs.
Leaves are narrowly lance-shaped, green and shiny on the top side, white and woolly underneath. The plant produces
flower heads
A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...
in a hemispheric cluster at the top of the plant, frequently with smaller clusters in the
axils
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
of the leaves. Each head is cylindrical, with brown or copper-colored bracts on the outside. It has 80-150
pistillate
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
flowers around the edge of the head plus 3-7
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
florets toward the center.
Flora of North America, ''Euchiton involucratus'' (G. Forster) Anderberg, 1991. Common-cudweed
/ref>
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15596371
Gnaphalieae
Flora of New Zealand
Flora of Australia
Plants described in 1756