Showy Fleabane - Erigeron speciosus

Showy Fleabane
Erigeron speciosus (Lindl.) DC.

Family: Asteraceae, Aster or Composite
Genus: Erigeron

Description
Plant height: 15-80 cm tall.
Growth habit: erect perennial from fibrous roots.
Stems: clustered from a woody stem base, amply leafy,
generally hairless below the flower cluster.

Leaves: alternate, 1-2 cm broad, slightly clasping stem,
hairless or nearly so, often triple-nerved. Lower leaves
spatula- or lance-shaped, broadest toward tip, stalked,
mostly withering soon, the upper leaves lance-shaped,
becoming stalkless, but ample.

Flowerheads: pink to blue or rarely white, with 65-150
rays, 9-18 mm long and about 1 mm wide. Disk corollas
4-5 mm long. Involucre 6-9 mm high, glandular, with
narrow, linear, pointed bracts. Heads 1-13 in loose
clusters.
Flowering time: June-August.

Fruits: achenes, 2-nerved or occasionally 4-nerved, with
pappus of 20-30 bristles and some short outer bristles.

Varieties: var. macranthus and var. speciosus, see below.

Distribution
Open woods and openings in wooded areas, mostly in the
foothills and at moderate elevations in the mountains in w.
and s. parts of MT. Also from BC and SD to NM and AZ.

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Contents
Identification
English Names Index
Scientific Names Index
Family Index

var. macranthus:

Varieties:

var. macranthus (Nutt.) Cronq.:
Leaves relatively wider, the uppermost egg-shaped. Plants less hairy, the stem commonly hairless except directly under the heads, the leaves smooth on the surface and rarely strongly edged with hairs all around, the involucre without hairs. Primarily more southern and eastern, extending commonly to c. ID and s.w. MT.

var. speciosus (Lindl.) DC.:
Leaves relatively narrow, the uppermost lance-shaped. Plants relatively a little more hairy, the stem often sparsely hairy above, the uppermost leaves tending to be strongly edged with hairs all around and often with a few hairs on the surface, the involucre commonly with a few long hairs. Primarily of WA, OR, n. ID, and w. MT.