The
photo at right shows cotton-batting plant from The Dalles Riverside Park.............August
26, 2001.
Cotton-batting plant is a tall, erect and sparsely branched annual to 60 cm high. White woolly hairs cover the leaves and stems. The leaves are somewhat heart-shaped clasping at their bases, and the oblong or lanceolate blades taper gradually to a point. Individual leaves range from 2.5- 7.5 cm long.
The numerous small flower heads are clustered at the ends of short branches at the apex of the stem. The involucral bracts are white to yellowish and surround minute yellow disk flowers (See the photo above.).
Cotton-batting plant may be found in moist, open and often disturbed soils. It is commonly found along roadsides and may be confused with pearly everlasting.
A native weed, the cotton-batting plant may be found from southwestern British Columbia south to southern California and east to Montana and Texas.
In the Columbia River Gorge it may be found between the elevations of 0'-600' throughout the length of the Gorge.