Erigeron caespitosus |
Erigeron religiosus |
|
---|---|---|
tuft daisy, tuft fleabane |
Clear Creek fleabane |
|
Habit | Perennials, 5–25(–30) cm; taprooted, caudices relatively thick, usually branched. | Annuals or short-lived perennials, 6–30(–40) cm; taprooted, caudices simple or branched. |
Stems | decumbent-ascending (greenish proximally), usually densely hirsute to hirtellous (hairs spreading to deflexed, gradually attenuate, basal cells erect), sometimes strigose (in Saskatchewan and Yukon), eglandular. |
decumbent-ascending to erect (branched), usually sparsely strigose (hairs rarely ascending-spreading), sometimes sparsely hirsutulous distally, sometimes sparsely glandular, sometimes minutely glandular distally. |
Leaves | basal (persistent) and cauline; basal blades (1–)3-nerved, narrowly oblanceolate to spatulate, (10–)20–90(–120) × 2–15 mm, margins entire (apices rounded to obtuse), faces densely hirtellous, eglandular; cauline blades oblong-ovate to linear, ± reduced distally. |
basal (persistent) and cauline; basal blades oblanceolate-spatulate to spatulate, 10–70 × 2–8(–13) mm, margins usually entire, sometimes dentate or pinnately divided, faces sparsely strigose, eglandular; cauline blades linear to oblanceolate, reduced distally. |
Involucres | 4–7 × 9–18 mm. |
2–3.5 × 5.5–7.5 mm. |
Ray florets | 30–100; corollas white to bluish, 5–15 mm, laminae coiling. |
37–85; corollas white, drying lilac, with abaxial lilac midstripe, 3.5–7 mm; laminae not coiling or reflexing. |
Disc corollas | 3–4.4 mm. |
1.6–2.4 mm (throats slightly indurate and inflated). |
Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, densely hirsuto-canescent to hirtellous (hairs spreading), moderately minutely glandular. |
in 3–5 series, sparsely to moderately hirtellous, minutely glandular. |
Heads | 1–4 (branches from distal 1/2 of stem). |
1–50+ in diffuse arrays (first 1 per branch, later more from axillary branches). |
Cypselae | 1.7–2.2 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae or scales, inner of 15–25 bristles. |
0.8–1.2 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 6–12 bristles. |
2n | = 18, 36. |
= 18, 27. |
Erigeron caespitosus |
Erigeron religiosus |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering May–Sep. |
Habitat | Rocky or sandy, grassy hills, sagebrush-aspen, pinyon-juniper, to spruce and tundra northward | Deep sand, ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, oak-maple, riparian |
Elevation | 1300–3000(–3600) m (4300–9800(–11800) ft) | 1100–2300 m (3600–7500 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AZ; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; SK; YT
|
AZ; UT |
Discussion | Erigeron caespitosus as recognized here is highly variable and perhaps justifiably could be divided into more than one taxon. Plants at lower elevations tend to produce tall stems branching above the middle and long, white rays. At higher elevations, especially in Idaho, western Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, stems tend to be shorter and simple and the rays commonly are blue to violet. In the Bitterroot Mountains (Ravalli and Deerlodge counties, Montana), short-stemmed, blue-rayed plants also have strigose cauline vestiture (in contrast to typically deflexed-hirtellous stems); these vestiture variants occur in the same area with plants apparently similar in all other features. Strigose populational variants also occur in Saskatchewan and Yukon, and E. abajoensis, largely distinguished by strigose cauline vestiture, might be considered a regional variant of E. caespitosus. In eastern Idaho and southwestern Montana, plants of E. caespitosus are commonly encountered with cauline leaves obovate and distinctly subclasping. Plants with strongly 3-nerved basal leaves occur in Carbon and Gallatin counties, Montana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Erigeron religiosus differs from E. divergens in stem vestiture (strigose, less densely hairy, less glandular) and petiolate basal leaves persistent into flowering. It differs in habit and habitat from E. sionis; it sometimes occurs in proximity; the uncommon presence of deeply lobed leaves in E. religiosus suggests gene flow from E. sionis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 283. | FNA vol. 20, p. 343. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 307. (1840) | Cronquist: Brittonia 6: 258. (1947) |
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