Family: Asteraceae - SUNFLOWER FAMILY, ASTER FAMILY (Compositae)
Genus: Adenocaulon from Greek aden 'gland' and kaulos 'stem'
Species: bicolor for leaf color; green on top, silver underneath
aka Trail Plant, Silver Green. A relatively tall plant of slender branching stems 1' - 3' (30 - 100 cm) tall with distinctive leaves and very unusual flowers. The mostly basal triangular-shaped leaves are 4 - 6" long and are a bright green on top and white-wooly underneath (see leaf detail). One can 'find' their path by retracing the route where upturned silver leaves show the way. The flower heads are very small (1/4" in diameter) of tubular disk flowers only. Usually found in forest openings to 6,500' elevation. (ref. Biek, Blackwell, Clark)
