Erigeron speciosus (Lindl.) DC.
Aspen fleabane, seaside daisy, showy daisy, showy fleabane
Aspen fleabane is a western North American native plant. “Fleabane” is based on the folk belief that the dried leaves kept fleas away.
Plants: Perennial plants are 6–40″ (15–101 cm) tall, with an average of 15 fleshy or woody and hairy stems per plant.
Leaves: Stem and basal leaves are oblanceolate, spatulate, elliptic, or oval. They clasp the stems, or nearly so, and are 1–6 ⨉ ⅛–¾″ (2.5–15 cm ⨉ 5–20 mm), becoming smaller higher on the stems.
Flowers: Each stem produces 2-20 flower heads, and each flower head has 75-150 flowers. Each composite flower has a central disc comprised of disc florets, and lavendar, blue, pink or rarely white ray florets. Flowers appear from June to October.
Fruits: Two- to four-nerved, oblong and flattened cypselae up to 1/16″ (1.8 mm) long. Fruits are hairy with two, tan, bristly, pappi, the inner of which have 20 to 30 bristles.
Habitats: Common in upper elevation meadows, sagebrush communities, quaking aspen woodlands, and coniferous forests, in wet and dry habitats, at elevations of 4500–12500′ (1.4–3.8 km) (lower elevations in cooler climes).
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Some fleabanes. |
Online References:
8/31/2014 · New Mexico · ≈ 9 × 8″ (22 × 21 cm) 
8/31/2014 · New Mexico · ≈ 8 × 9″ (19 × 23 cm) 
8/31/2014 · New Mexico · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Asterales | Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies |
| Family | Asteraceae | The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers |
| Genus | Erigeron | From Greek eri, “early,” and geron, “old man,” for the fluffy white seed heads and early flowering |
| Species | speciosus | Showy |
Erigeron speciosus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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