Luina Hypoleuca, Silverback

Day 322: Flip over one of Silverback's leaves, and you'll understand precisely how it got its common name. The backs are woolly (tomentose), covered with fine silvery hairs. The second part of Luina's Latin moniker is also definitive: "hypoleuca," where the prefix "hypo-" means "under" and "-leuca" means "white," easy to remember if you associate the term with "hypodermic," i.e., "under the skin." Each button-like head of the plant's inflorescence is comprised of 10-20 individual cream-coloured flowers resembling miniature pincushions, studded with the long, bright yellow corollas characteristic of this species. Silverback commonly grows in the drier soils of the subalpine zone. It may be seen in association with one or more of the Castillejas (Paintbrush) which are known to parasitize it.