As I was cutting the pasture with the rotary mowing machine to keep the weeds down and encourage the grass, I spotted one of these plants. It is a pearly everlasting, a native Maine wildflower. Some quick maneuvering saved the plant from disaster.
The scientific name is Anaphalis margaritacea and it is related to asters. It is a perennial with either male or female plants. I can’t tell the sex of this plant by looking so will wait to see if it produces seeds.
As the name suggests, this flower works well for dried arrangements, retaining its pearly white bract color rather than fading to beige. The foliage has a silvery cast with a pleasant scent when crushed.
Pearly Everlasting has medicinal uses for native peoples including sore throat, headache and diarrhea relief. The plant parts can also be used to create yellow, gold, green or brown dyes. Its most valuable use after dried arrangements is as a favored food source of the Painted Lady butterfly larvae. I will be looking for seeds to collect from this plant to spread in my wildflower insect reserves.
sercadia 
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