Purple Cudweed

Purple Cudweed, Spoonleaf Purple Everlasting

Gamochaeta purpurea (L.) Cabrera
(formerly Gnaphalium purpureum L.)

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

▲ basal rosette

▲ ▼ plants initiating flowering

▲ ▼ mature flowering plants

▲ inflorescence cluster

▲ mature flowering plant

Gamochaeta purpurea (L.) Cabrera, Purple Cudweed, Spoonleaf Purple Everlasting: (Bayer Code: GNAPU; US Code GAPU3)

U.S. native summer or winter annual that grows 4-16 inches tall, producing usually one unbranched stem per basal rosette of leaves; stems are grayish-white, covered with hairs
First forms a rosette of basal leaves that are spatula-shaped, with smooth margins and no petioles; leaves are greenish-gray to grayish-white, covered with hairs; flowing stem leaves are similar, but smaller, often with wavy-edged margins; rosette and lower stem leaves often withered before flowering commences
Flower head inflorescences are egg-shaped and greenish-brown to purplish-brown, in small clusters in axils of upper stem leaves; individual heads are 1/8 inch diameter, have tiny, non-descript disk flowers and no ray flowers; disk flowers are purplish on their lower portion, but that part is hidden by bracts; flowers from mid to late spring
Bracts around head are oval, in several rows, and covered with whitish hairs, so they appear grayish-white to greenish white
Found in open woods, lawns, gardens, disturbed sites; prefers moist, well-drained (sandy) soils; can tolerate moderate shade
Can distinguish from Low Cudweed (Gnaphalium ulignosum) which has more branched stems, flowers mid-summer to early fall, and it has smaller, more slender leaves