Dioecious. Plants 2-25(-35) cm. Stolons 5.5-20 cm (filiform). Basal leaves: 3-5-nerved, obovate to broadly oblong-spatulate, 20-75 × 15-45 mm, tips mucronate, abaxially tomentose, adaxially gray-pubescent to floccose-glabrate. Cauline leaves linear, 1-17 mm, distal flagged. Heads borne singly. Involucres: staminate 8-11 mm; pistillate 8-14 mm. Phyllaries (bases green or brown) distally white. Corollas: staminate 3.8-5.5 mm; pistillate 4.5-7 mm. Cypselae 1-2 mm, papillate; pappi: staminate 4.5-7 mm; pistillate 6-9 mm. 2n = 28.

Flowering early-mid spring. Slopes or stream banks in moist, rich, deciduous woodlands, forests, sometimes forest openings; 0-1500 m; Ala., Ark.. Ga., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Miss., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn., Va., W.Va.

With its relatively large, 3-5-nerved, basal leaves and relatively large heads borne singly, Antennaria solitaria is an easily recognized amphimictic member of the Catipes group (R. J. Bayer and G. L. Stebbins 1982). It is a sexual diploid progenitor of the A. parlinii polyploid complex.

Infrequent to rare on the crests or slopes of chestnut oak ridges of a few of the southern counties. Staminate plants rather rare.

Much like no. 5 [Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Richardson], but differing sharply in its solitary heads; stems 1-2.5 dm, nearly naked; basal lvs avg longer (to 7.5 cm) and somewhat narrower in shape, often obovate; elongate stolons nearly naked; invol 8-10 mm; diploid and sexual. Woods; sw. Pa. and s. O. to s. Ind., s. to Va., Ga., and La. Apr., May.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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