Jersey cudweed is a hairy, low-growing wildflower in the daisy family that is found in meadows, waste ground and forest edges across many continents. It is a hardy, undemanding plant that thrives in open sunny sites with well-drained soil.
Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out between waterings; it tolerates dry conditions well.
Soil
Poor to average, well-drained soil; tolerates sandy or gravelly ground.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates; leaves can survive freezing in winter.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
Africa, Europe to Taiwan and Indo-China, New Guinea to Australia, New Caledonia
Climate
temperate
About
Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum, synonyms including Helichrysum luteoalbum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. In the United Kingdom, it is known as the Jersey cudweed.
Where it grows
This species is so widely distributed that it is unclear where it is native and where naturalised. In general it is considered naturalised in North and South America, and native to every other continent except Antarctica. It grows in meadows, wastelands, and edges of forests. Its rosettes are occasionally mistaken for edelweiss.
Uses
In Vietnam, the plant is used as a food ingredient, such as in the rice cake banh khuc. It has also been used in traditional medicine of the region, as a diuretic, hemostatic, antipyretic, for the treatment of cough, and for pain relief.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.