Asteraceae

Chaenactis douglasii

Dusty Maidens

Ascending, stout perennial with persistent basal rosette. Stems thinly coated with gray cobweb-like hairs, sticky glands, or both. Leaves thick, less than 6 in. long, largest pinnately divided to midrib into crowded linear lobes, longest near midleaf. Lobes contorted, again divided; tips reflexed so that leaf curls. Flower heads single to many, each on separate stalks. Disk flowers in glandular cup, white to pinkish, anthers extending above head. Grows in rock crevices in dry open areas at low to alpine elevations. Var. douglasii is branched below middle. Var. alpina, a small mound, grows only in alpine areas.

• Rarity: Uncommon
• Flowering Time: Early Summer
• Life Cycle: Biennial, Perennial
• Height: 6--25 inches
• Habitat: Shrub-Steppe, Alpine, Subalpine
• Found In: Wallowas
• Native: Yes