Cat's foot
size:
plant: 5 to 20 centimeters
flower: 0.5 to 1.2 centimeters
color:
males: white petals and sepals
females: white petals and pink sepals
blossoms:
May and June
pollination:
insects
reproduction:
runners, seed
life span:
perennial
- Dut: Rozenkransje
- Lat: Antennaria dioica
- Eng: Cat's-Foot, pussy toes
- Fren: Pied-de-chat
- Ger: Katzenpfötchen
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| Cat's footThis rare plant is also called pussy toes! From a distance, you can tell by the color if you are looking at male or female plants. Males are white and females are pinkish. Cat's foot has runners just like strawberries, so that one-sexed colonies often form. However, unless the plants are pollinated, no seed develops. This can be the reason why cat's foot has become so rare. If the one-sexed colonies are too far apart, the insects that spread the pollen won't deposit it where it's needed. And if the habitat of a colony is destroyed, there is no seed to restore it. |
- Distribution and habitat
Although cat's foot used to be found on dikes and dunes along much of the Dutch coastline, it is now only found in the northern dune regions and on the Wadden Islands. The dunes by Bergen aan Zee in North-Holland is the best and largest area where cat's foot grows in Europe. Schiermonnikoog has the second largest population. If you find cat's foot, it is often together with other rare plants, such as orchids and adder's tongue. These plants all grow in areas that are wet in the winter and grazed by rabbits. Rabbits are very important for cat's foot because they keep other vegetation short.
See also
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