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- Sunflower Family: Asteraceae
Cudweeds (Gnaphalium spp. (= Euchiton spp.))
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Most cudweed species are annuals. Purple cudweed, Gnaphalium purpureum, is either a winter or summer annual, or biennial, as some plants will survive into the second year to mature, thereby behaving as a biennial. Creeping cudweed, G. collinum, is a perennial. Everlasting cudweed, Gnaphalium luteo-album, is a landscape and nursery weed. Cotton batting, Gnaphalium stramineum, can be a problem in turf.
Seedling
Cotyledons (seed leaves) and first true leaves are covered with whitish to light gray woolly hairs. The first true leaves have smooth edges and taper gradually toward the base.
Mature plant
Sparsely branched, mostly erect, and are 8 to 20 inches (20–50 cm) tall.
Flowers
The flower heads are crowded, spikelike, and densely arranged on the stem or at the base of leaf stalks.
Fruits
The fruits bears bristly, tuftlike projections that are shed at maturity.
Reproduction
Reproduces by seed.
Related or similar plants
- Creeping cudweed, Gnaphalium collinum
- Cottonbatting cudweed, Pseudognaphalium stramineum (Kunth)
- Everlasting cudweed, Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum
- Purple cudweed, Gnaphalium purpureum
More information
- Broadleaf ID illustration
- Calflora's distribution map
- For agriculture: UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines
