Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth.
Pearly everlasting, western pearly everlasting
Pearly everlasting is a native of North America, northeastern Asia, and northern and eastern Europe.
Plants: 1½–3′ (45–91 cm) in height, with whitish stems, topped with dense corymbs of tiny white flowers.
Leaves: Grayish green, lanceolate, 3–4½″ (7.5–12 cm) in length, but only ⅛″ (3.2 mm) wide, with sharp tips. They have tiny hairs on the undersides, with a fuzzy feeling.
Flowers: A tight ball of small white flowers with yellow centers, looking a bit like dozens of tiny fried eggs. Each round flower is about ⅜″ (1 cm) in diameter. (Technically, the white parts are bracts—modified leaves—and the yellow parts are the flowers. And only the male (staminate) plants have yellow centers, they are white on female (pistillate) plants.) Especially shortly before they open, the flowers have a pearl-like appearance. They flower from June to October.
Fruits: Small brown seeds with feathery plumes.
Habitats: Dry, sandy soil.
From Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Brown, Addison, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions, 1913, p. Vol. 3: 453 
Edibility: The leaves and young plant are edible when cooked.
Online References:
References:
9/23/2023 · Mount Kineo, Rockwood, Maine 
8/4/2025 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 5″ (16 × 12 cm) 
8/14/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 3½″ (11 × 9.1 cm) 
9/19/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
8/7/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Land, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 11″ (21 × 26 cm) 
8/14/2015 · Roost Trail, Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4½″ (13 × 11 cm) 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
8/14/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3″ (11 × 8.2 cm) 
8/14/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 
7/31/2023 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine 
8/7/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Land, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 7″ (21 × 18 cm) 
8/4/2025 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.1 cm) 
7/31/2023 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine 
9/23/2023 · Mount Kineo, Rockwood, Maine 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 5″ (17 × 13 cm) 
8/4/2006 · Mt. Mansfield, Stowe, Vermont 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 5 × 3″ (13 × 7.9 cm) 
8/14/2015 · Roost Trail, Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 7 × 10″ (16 × 25 cm) 
8/28/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3″ (12 × 8.4 cm) 
8/14/2015 · Roost Trail, Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine · ≈ 5 × 6″ (12 × 15 cm) 
8/4/2025 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm) 
8/4/2025 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Asterales | Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies |
| Family | Asteraceae | The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers |
| Genus | Anaphalis | From the Greek: ana, meaning “upwards, upon, high,” with a connotation of “increasing;” and phalos, “shining, white.” |
| Species | margaritacea | From the Latin margarita, “a pearl,” hence pertaining to pearls, pearly |
Anaphalis margaritacea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
