Gnaphalium purpureum L.

Global description

Gnaphalium purpureum is an erect plant reaching 50 cm tall, branched as from the base, covered with a white woolly felting. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblanceolate or spatulate, entire. Inflorescences consist of small yellow glomerules, grouped in terminal and axillary spikes. The flowers are small, numerous and usually yellow. The fruits are very small.
 
Cotyledons

The cotyledons are spatulate, subsessile. The leaf blade measures 8 mm long and 5 mm wide. It is covered with fine woolly hairs.
 
First leaves

The first leaves are simple, alternate, entire, spatulate, pubescent, arranged in rosette.
 
General habit

Herbaceous plant, with the stem branched as from the base, the central ramifications often erect, decumbent on the sides then ascending.
 
Underground system

The plant has a taproot system.
 
Stem

The stem is full, cylindrical, covered with a white velvety pubescence.
 
Leaf

The leaves are simple, alternate, sessile. The leaves at the base are arranged in rosette. The leaf blade is spatulate to oblanceolate, 5 to 12 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide. The base is attenuated in acute corner, forming a pseudo-petiole, the apex is rounded or wedged, mucronate. The margin is entire, wavy. The underside is abundantly covered with white woolly hairs, upper surface is greenish and covered sparsely with a woolly pubescence. The leaves decrease in size towards the top of the stems, gradually passing to the bracts of the inflorescence.
 
Inflorescence

The inflorescences are composed of small, axillary, sessile glomerules, composed of several small capitulums, all organized in terminal spikes. The capitulum has an involucres with 3 sets of bracts, the external woolly on the back, the internal transparent, pale brown or buff.
 
Flower

The flowers are all tubulate, external flowers are filiform and generally female, the internal flowers are hermaphrodite or functionally male, with a tubulated corolla enlarged at the top, whitish, with purple or reddish top, and short lobes.
 
Fruit

The fruit is a small achene oblong or ellipsoid, 0.5 mm long, topped by a white pappus of bristles scabrous, fused at the base into a ring and falling all together.

Origin

Gnaphalium purpureum is native to tropical and subtropical America (southern USA, Central America and northern South America).

Worldwide distribution

This species has been introduced in East Africa, in the islands of the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion), in India, in Australia and in the Pacific in New Caledonia.

https://www.gbif.org/species/3103209