The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Eaton's fleabane

Coulter's fleabane

Habit Plants perennial, 4–28 cm; taprooted, caudices branching or not. Plants perennial, 15–55 cm; roots fibrous, rhizomatous, occasionally with branching caudices.
Stems

erect to ascending or decumbent, usually strigose to occasionally villous, becoming woolly distally, sometimes minutely glandular.

erect, sparsely villous, eglandular.

Basal leaves

persistent, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 20–150 × 2–10 mm;

margins entire, usually with 3 distinct basal veins;

tips usually rounded to acute or acuminate;

surfaces strigose to hirsute, eglandular.

occasionally withering by flowering, broadly oblanceolate-elliptic, 40–150 × 10–25 mm;

margins entire or occasionally with poorly developed teeth;

surfaces sparsely strigose or hirsute, eglandular.

Cauline leaves

gradually to abruptly reduced distally, sometimes becoming linear and bract-like.

lanceolate to elliptic, 10–80 × 2.5–25(30) mm, gradually reduced distally, bases clasping;

margins entire or with minute teeth.

Involucres

4–6 × 8–15 mm.

5–8 × 11–17 mm.

Ray florets

20–45, white to purple;

rays 3–8 × 0.8–2.5 mm.

60–110, white;

rays 8–15 × 0.5–1 mm.

Disc florets

corollas 3–4 mm.

corollas 3–5 mm.

Phyllaries

in 2–3 series;

surfaces sparsely sericeous to densely villous, sometimes minutely glandular.

in 2–3 series;

surfaces moderately to densely hirsute or villous, eglandular to minutely glandular.

Fruits

2–3 mm, glabrate to remotely strigose;

inner pappi of numerous barbellate bristles.

1.5–2 mm, sparsely strigose;

inner pappi of numerous barbellate bristles.

Heads

1–3 in scape- or corymb-like arrays, radiate.

1(3), radiate.

2n

=18.

Erigeron eatonii

Erigeron coulteri

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Western United States. 6 varieties; 3 varieties treated in Flora.

Moist coniferous forests, wet meadows. Flowering Jun–Aug. 1100–2000 m. BW. CA, ID, NV; northeast to MT, east to WY, southeast to NM. Native.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 256
James Riser, Stephen Meyers
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 255
James Riser, Stephen Meyers
Sibling taxa
E. acris, E. aliceae, E. annuus, E. aphanactis, E. aureus, E. bloomeri, E. cascadensis, E. cervinus, E. chrysopsidis, E. compositus, E. corymbosus, E. coulteri, E. decumbens, E. disparipilus, E. divergens, E. elegantulus, E. filifolius, E. foliosus, E. glacialis, E. glaucus, E. howellii, E. inornatus, E. karvinskianus, E. klamathensis, E. latus, E. linearis, E. lonchophyllus, E. nivalis, E. oreganus, E. peregrinus, E. petrophilus, E. philadelphicus, E. poliospermus, E. pumilus, E. simplex, E. speciosus, E. stanselliae, E. strigosus, E. tener, E. vagus
E. acris, E. aliceae, E. annuus, E. aphanactis, E. aureus, E. bloomeri, E. cascadensis, E. cervinus, E. chrysopsidis, E. compositus, E. corymbosus, E. decumbens, E. disparipilus, E. divergens, E. eatonii, E. elegantulus, E. filifolius, E. foliosus, E. glacialis, E. glaucus, E. howellii, E. inornatus, E. karvinskianus, E. klamathensis, E. latus, E. linearis, E. lonchophyllus, E. nivalis, E. oreganus, E. peregrinus, E. petrophilus, E. philadelphicus, E. poliospermus, E. pumilus, E. simplex, E. speciosus, E. stanselliae, E. strigosus, E. tener, E. vagus
Subordinate taxa
E. eatonii var. lavandulus, E. eatonii var. plantagineus, E. eatonii var. villosus
Web links