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| Family: Asteraceae (Aster) |
| Flowers — color: purple, size: 1/8", type: daisy (compound) |
Everlasting flowers consist of a hundred or so disk florets surrounded by a covering of dozens of phylarries. Most florets are female, but a few have stamens, too. Unlike most Aster family plants, there are no ray florets. The phylarries will open to expose the the top of purple florets and allow pollenization (for the purposes of positive ID, I really want to believe its purple). These white phylarries don't seem to open fully (or have not yet).
The single flower cluster holds up to two dozen flowers.
Habit:
Pink Everlasting is an annual or perennial herb with three local relatives: California, bicolored, and pink. It has columnar form and grows about one foot high. The long leaves are oblanceolate, broader near the tip, and attach with directly to stem. They are pale green and have lengthwise veins.
The Chumash had medical uses for all the everlastings. Often appear in small groups, open shade in oak woodlands, partially disturbed ground.