Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Pearly Everlasting - Anaphalis margaritacea   (L.) Bentham & Hooker fils
Members of Asteraceae:
Only member of Anaphalis in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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Author(L.) Bentham & Hooker fils
DistributionScattered records from across the state. First collected in 1931 in Burke and Forsyth counties.

Native of N.A., where essentially throughout Canada, south to northern VA (as a native); as an escape found in NC, TN, TX, CA.
AbundanceRare in the western part of the state and very rare in the east. One population in 1948 in Onslow County was "abundant" in an old field.
HabitatRoadsides, fields, back dune flats, mixed pine forest, "Cliffside Lake" (Forsyth Co.). Often cultivated, formerly at least, but rarely escaped.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting July-October.
IdentificationPearly Everlasting is similar to members of Pseudognaphalium and less so to Gnaphalium. The stems are 1-3 feet tall, whitened with dense tomentum. The leaves are broadly linear, dark green above and white beneath. The inflorescence grows atop the stem in corymbs or panicles, the heads globular, flower bracts bright white, the rayless florets dull yellow -- producing an "interesting" look in bloom -- like a small bright white ball with a yellow cap.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankG5
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpUPL link
USACE-empUPL link
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
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B.A. SorrieRoadside, central MT, July 2020. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC