Erigeron neomexicanus |
Erigeron flagellaris |
|
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New Mexico fleabane |
trailing fleabane, whiplash daisy |
|
Habit | Perennials, 20–70 cm; taprooted, caudices woody. | |
Stems | erect, moderately to densely strigose (hairs appressed to ascending, 0.1–0.8(–2) mm, sometimes spreading at bases or throughout), eglandular or glands minute, non-capitate. |
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. |
Leaves | basal (sometimes persistent) and cauline; blades oblanceolate, margins usually deeply pinnatifid (lobes in 2–5 pairs), sometimes dentate to entire, faces strigose, eglandular; basal 10–60 × 6–35 mm, cauline gradually reduced distally. |
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. |
Involucres | 3.5–5 × 7–12 mm. |
3–5 × 6–13 mm. |
Ray florets | 70–150; corollas white, drying white, (2–)6–15 mm, laminae reflexing. |
40–125; corollas white, often with an abaxial midstripe, often drying lilac, 4–10 mm, laminae not coiling or reflexing. |
Disc corollas | 2.5–3.3 mm (throats somewhat white-indurate, not inflated). |
2–3.5 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, strigose to hirsute (hairs arising mostly from midregion), usually minutely glandular, rarely eglandular. |
in 2–3 series, strigose to loosely hirsute, minutely glandular. |
Heads | (1–)5–15(–30) in loosely corymbiform arrays. |
1(–3, on proximal branches). |
Cypselae | 1–1.3 mm, 2(–4)–nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: (outer 0) inner (readily falling) of (8–)10–12 bristles. |
0.8–1.3 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 10–17 bristles. |
Biennuals | or short-lived perennials, 3–15 cm; usually fibrous-rooted, sometimes taprooted, caudices lignescent, rarely branched. |
|
2n | = 18, 36. |
= 18, 27, 36, 45, 54. |
Erigeron neomexicanus |
Erigeron flagellaris |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Jul–)Aug–Oct(–Dec). | Flowering May–Aug(–Sep). |
Habitat | Open, rocky sites, from grasslands into oak or pine woodlands, often with madrono, juniper, or fir | Meadows and grassy slopes, often moist, open areas in grasslands, pinyon pine, oak-pine, pine, aspen, and spruce-fir |
Elevation | (900–)1500–2700(–3000) m ((3000–)4900–8900(–9800) ft) | (1700–)2100–3600 m ((5600–)6900–11800 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
|
AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; Mexico
|
Discussion | Relatively large, pinnatifid leaves are typical of Erigeron neomexicanus; plants with nearly entire leaves can be identified by the strongly perennial habit, white, reflexing rays, and 10–12 readily falling pappus bristles. Erigeron neomexicanus and E. oreophilus were treated by A. Cronquist (1947) as varieties of one species, and their morphologic similarity and the closeness of their geographic ranges support that hypothesis. But relatively few collections are found that could be regarded as intermediates, and both forms sometimes grow in proximity, apparently without a range of intermediates. In some Arizona mountain ranges, apparently only one or the other taxon occurs. Still, the possibility exists that these are populational segregants of a single species (see further comments in G. L. Nesom 1989d). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 277. | FNA vol. 20, p. 341. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. delphiniifolius var. euneomexicanus, E. delphiniifolius subsp. neomexicanus | E. nudiflorus |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 19: 2. (1883) | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 68. (1849) |
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