Common name:
Plains fleabane
Family:
Scientific name:
Erigeron modestus
Main flower color:
Range:
Arizona, New Mexico and the southern Great Plains
Height:
Up to 16 inches
Habitat:
Desert scrub, oak and juniper woodland, sandy or rocky sites; including on limestone, clay and granite; from 700 to 6,500 feet
Leaves:
Spatulate to oblanceolate, usually up to 2 inches long, with a few pairs of teeth near the tip
Season:
April to June
Leaves of erigeron modestus are quite distinctive; they are narrowly oblanceolate, widening slightly towards the apex, which is flanked by one or two pairs of small teeth. Leaves have a sparse covering of strigose hairs. Leaves occur at the base and along the stem, and are shorter, and narrower, towards the top of the stem. Basal leaves tend to have withered by the flowering stage. Plants produce several stems, angled away from vertical.
Stems are usually topped by a single flowerhead, though stem branches may have rather more. Phyllaries, in two or three rows, are broadly ovate, often pinkish at the tip, and sparsely hairy. There are between 24 and 60 ray florets, sometimes many more (up to 170), colored white, with pinkish stripes underneath, and withering to all-pink.
Stems are usually topped by a single flowerhead, though stem branches may have rather more. Phyllaries, in two or three rows, are broadly ovate, often pinkish at the tip, and sparsely hairy. There are between 24 and 60 ray florets, sometimes many more (up to 170), colored white, with pinkish stripes underneath, and withering to all-pink.
All Contents © Copyright The American Southwest | Comments and Questions | Contribute | Site Map