Mother Nature's Montrose Garden: Plant of the Month (October) : Western Pearly Everlasting

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): looks good in October

The gardens of Western Colorado are looking very fall-like by October. There are still plenty of yellow flowers and changing leaves. But the overall trend is towards oranges-brown, so contrasting flowers and foliage play an important accent role. One of our favorite fall accents in Mother Nature’s Montrose Garden is the Western Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis mararitacea. The scientific name is pronounced: a-NAF-uh-lus mar-gar-ee-tuh-KEE-uh.

The genus Anaphalis, in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae), primarily grows in Central Asia.[1] Its members are known for their hairy-white foliage. Most also have flower bracts that remain on the plant for months after flowering (hence the common name ‘Everlasting’). Both the foliage and flowers/bracts provide good contrast against the greens and browns of other plants.

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea):
contrasts with other native plants

The sole North American Anaphalis is our Plant of the Month, Anaphalis mararitacea, which is also native to Central Asia and India. [2] Western Pearly Everlasting (also known as Common Pearly Everlasting or simply Pearly Everlasting) has a wide North American range. It grows wild from Canada to northwestern Mexico, most commonly in mountain meadows, dry woods (often with aspen or mixed conifer-hardwood), along roads/trails and in other open (often disturbed) places.

Anaphalis mararitacea grows on Colorado’s Western Slope and in some southern Colorado counties. It is ‘common in mountain meadows and forest openings from the montane to subalpine, 7800-11,500 ft.’ [3] For good photographs in Western Colorado see reference 4 (references at end of post).

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): growth habit

Pearly Everlasting is an herbaceous perennial that dies back completely in cold weather. The plants are robust and upright (above), with heights of 1-3 ft. [0.3 to 1 m.] and widths of 1-2 ft. In Mother Nature’s Montrose Garden, plants are usually around 1 ft tall and a little wider. Branches are brittle and covered in white trichomes (hairs). Plants spread via underground stems (rhizomes) and clumps or patches are often seen in the wild and in gardens.

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): foliage

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): leaves

The leaves are medium to deep gray-green above, while the undersides are wooly and soft (photo above). Largest leaves are 3 to 5 inches long, narrow and alternate. The foliage has a faint balsamic scent. Plants are dioecious, with separate male and female plants (below).

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): flowering plant

As is typical of the Sunflower family, flowers are clustered in flowering ‘heads’. The tightly clustered buds resemble pearls, hence the common name ‘Pearly Everlasting’. What’s unusual about the flowering heads is that they contain only the reproductive disc flowers - no showy, colorful ray flowers. The apparent ‘petals’ are actually thin bracts (modified leaves surrounding flowers).

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): male flowers

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): female flowers

Male plants contain only male (staminate) flowers; female plants only female (pistillate) flowers (above). The bracts of female flowers remain closed until flowering is complete; the bracts of male flowering heads are more spread open. And only the female plants produce seeds; production of fertile seeds requires both male and female plants and the services of pollinators. If you raise your plants from seed, you’ll likely get some of each sex.

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea):
female flowers going to seed in fall

Pearly Everlasting blooms from mid-summer until early fall, with seeds developing in October in our garden. The seeds are small, light, with a tuft of white hairs. Seeds are spread by the wind, making this a good candidate for naturalizing.

Anaphalis mararitacea can be grown in USDA Zones 3 through 8 or 9. It is quite a tolerant species: it’s not particular about soil texture and accepts soil pH from 5 to 8. It likes sun but will tolerate some shade. And it’s quite drought tolerant once established (irrigate several times a month in dry summers). In fact, the one thing it doesn’t like is water-logged soils.

Like many Western native plants, Pearly Everlasting needs no fertilizer in the ground. If grown in containers, we’d give it a dose of half-strength fertilizer in spring.

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): seeds

This is an easy plant to grow and seeds are readily available from seed sources. Seeds can be planted outdoors in prepared seed beds. Alternatively, they can be sown outdoors after the last spring frost. Seeds purchased from growers have usually been pre-treated with a cold exposure. If you collect your own seeds, you will get better germination if seeds are exposed to cold. For good instructions on cold treatments see reference 4 (references).

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): seedllings

Lady Butterfly on Lilac

One of the many reasons we like Pearly Everlasting is its habitat value. Several types of native bees, as well as butterflies and other pollinators visit the flowers. The foliage provides larval (caterpillar) food for American lady (Vanessa virginiensis) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies. The caterpillars create protective ‘tents’ made of leaves and silk at the ends of the flowering stalks. They emerge to feed under the protection of darkness.

Lady caterpillar tent on related species.

If you’re interested in traditional uses, Anaphalis mararitacea will appeal. Young leaves and plants can be cooked and eaten as greens. The scented flowers and foliage can be used as incense, used as tea (fresh or dried) or dried to scent linens and clothes. The plant dries/stores well, and tea from the dried plant makes a sweetly scented tea, alone or combined with other herbal tea ingredients. Yellow, green and brown dyes can also be produced from flowers and foliage.

Pearly Everlasting has a history of use as a medicinal plant, as an infusion (tea), tincture and poultice. An infusion (tea) is good for seasonal allergies. [5] It was also used traditionally to treat ‘diarrhoea, dysentery and pulmonary affections’.[6] Poultices made from Anaphalis mararitacea were applied to burns, sores, ulcers, bruises, swellings and rheumatic joints. And steam from an infusion has been inhaled to treat headaches and sinus congestion. [6]

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis mararitacea): in garden

There are also many horticultural reasons to include Pearly Everlasting in the home garden. First, it’s an easy plant to grow that succeeds in many gardens. It can be started inexpensively from seed and it naturalizes well in bare areas of the garden.

This is a must addition to a pollinator or butterfly garden. You might plant it in an herb garden or near a vegetable garden. The flower bracts make a lovely, long-lasting fall cut flower, and are often so used. Its foliage and flowers provide attractive contrast in the perennial bed or water-wise prairie/meadow, particularly in fall.

We like it along pathways, driveways, etc. And its scent is so pleasant that it deserves a place near seating areas, perhaps grown in containers on a patio. In short, we think there’s lots to recommend Western Pearly Everlasting. Do you have a place to tuck this little plant into your garden?