Why are only pistillate pussy-toes plants found in some parts of their range?

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Sunflower — Asteraceae The flowering head of a sunflower (*Helianthus annuus*) is formed of yellow, petal-like ray flowers and a brown center of minute disk flowers.

In the genus Antennaria (pussy-toes), the presence of only pistillate plants in certain parts of their range is due to apomixis, a form of asexual reproduction where seeds are produced without fertilization.1

While normal sexual reproduction in these dioecious plants yields an equal number of staminate (male) and pistillate (female) individuals, apomictic reproduction produces only pistillate plants. This phenomenon is often linked to polyploidy and a history of hybridization within the Asteraceae family.1