Erigeron flagellaris |
Erigeron modestus |
|
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trailing fleabane, whiplash daisy |
plains fleabane |
|
Habit | Perennials (sometimes flowering early and appearing annual or biennial), 8–40 cm; usually taprooted (taproots woody or lignescent, early season forms sometimes fibrous-rooted), caudices usually woody, sometimes branched. | |
Stems | first erect (greenish proximally; usually single, simple), then producing herbaceous, leafy, prostrate runners (usually with rooting plantlets at tips, populations often becoming clonal mats), strigose (often sparsely; hairs antrorsely appressed, consistent in orientation), sometimes slightly glandular distally. |
(often multiple from bases; of previous year often persistent) ascending to spreading (proximally reddish in early season, sometimes proximally woody or lignescent), loosely strigose to villous (proximal hairs sometimes spreading), often sparsely glandular. |
Leaves | basal (often persistent) and cauline; basal blades broadly oblanceolate to elliptic, 20–55 × 3–9 mm; cauline abruptly reduced distally, margins entire or dentate, faces strigose, eglandular. |
basal (often withering by late flowering) and cauline; blades oblanceolate to spatulate, 20–50(–100) × 3–7(–18) mm, gradually reduced distally, margins entire or with 1–2(–3) pairs of teeth, faces loosely strigose (hairs ascending), eglandular. |
Involucres | 3–5 × 6–13 mm. |
3–4.5 × 6–9(–12) mm. |
Ray florets | 40–125; corollas white, often with an abaxial midstripe, often drying lilac, 4–10 mm, laminae not coiling or reflexing. |
24–65(–170); corollas white, often with abaxial midstripe, often drying lilac, 4–7(–11) mm, laminae not coiling or reflexing. |
Disc corollas | 2–3.5 mm. |
1.7–3.1 mm (throats indurate and slightly inflated). |
Phyllaries | in 2–3 series, strigose to loosely hirsute, minutely glandular. |
in 2–3 series, sparsely to moderately hirsute, minutely glandular. |
Heads | 1(–3, on proximal branches). |
1(–3+, –50 in later season, branches at first from midstem or proximally, later more distal). |
Cypselae | 0.8–1.3 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 10–17 bristles. |
1.1–1.4 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of (5–)12–17 bristles. |
Biennuals | or short-lived perennials, 3–15 cm; usually fibrous-rooted, sometimes taprooted, caudices lignescent, rarely branched. |
|
2n | = 18, 27, 36, 45, 54. |
= 27, 36. |
Erigeron flagellaris |
Erigeron modestus |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Aug(–Sep). | Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Jun(–Oct). |
Habitat | Meadows and grassy slopes, often moist, open areas in grasslands, pinyon pine, oak-pine, pine, aspen, and spruce-fir | Rocky or gravelly sites, sand, clay, limestone, granite, sometimes deep sand, often with oak or oak-juniper, shrubland |
Elevation | (1700–)2100–3600 m ((5600–)6900–11800 ft) | 200–1700(–2300) m (700–5600(–7500) ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; Mexico
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AZ; KS; NM; OK; TX; Mexico (Coahuila, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon)
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Discussion | Early season forms of Erigeron flagellaris may consist of a basal rosette and a single, erect, scapiform, monocephalous stem; leafy runners usually develop quickly. Many polyploids of this species are indistinguishable from diploids; some polyploids have features suggestive of genetic influence of E. tracyi. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Erigeron modestus is a polyploid complex apparently incorporating genes from E. flagellaris, E. tracyi, elements of E divergens, and the Mexican E. pubescens Kunth; arbitrary identifications may be necessary. In most of its range in Texas, E. modestus is not sympatric with any of those other taxa. Forms flowering in early season (Mar–Apr) often have stems red at the bases, dentate basal leaves 30–60(–100) × 5–10(–18) mm, and single, relatively large heads (involucres 9–12 mm diam, ray florets 50–170, corollas 6.5–11 mm) on ebracteate peduncles 5–15 cm. Later season plants have nearly intricately branched stems with more numerous, much smaller, diffusely arranged heads. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 341. | FNA vol. 20, p. 341. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. nudiflorus | E. lobatus var. warnockii, E. plateauensis, E. warnockii |
Name authority | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 68. (1849) | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 68. (1849) |
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