Erigeron speciosus |
Erigeron purpuratus |
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aspen fleabane, showy daisy, showy fleabane, splendid fleabane |
purple fleabane |
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Habit | Perennials, 30–80(–100) cm; rhizomatous, fibrous-rooted, caudices relatively thick. | Perennials, (2–)3–9(–14) cm; taprooted, caudices diffuse with extensive systems of rhizomelike, relatively long and slender branches. |
Stems | erect, glabrous or sparsely hirsuto-pilose (hairs 0.5–1 mm), often minutely glandular distally. |
erect (simple, ± scapiform), villous, minutely glandular. |
Leaves | basal (usually withering by flowering) and cauline; basal blades oblanceolate-spatulate, 30–80(–150) × 4–18(–28) mm, margins entire, often ciliate (main veins sometimes also), faces glabrous, eglandular or distal sparsely minutely glandular; cauline blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or lanceolate, nearly even-sized distally or sometimes mid largest (continuing to immediately below heads, bases usually clasping to subclasping). |
mostly basal (persistent); blades linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 15–30(–45) × 1–2.5(–3) mm, margins entire or (mostly on early leaves) with 1–2 shallow lateral lobes or teeth, faces sparsely hirsuto-villous or glabrous, minutely glandular. |
Involucres | 6–9 × 11–22 mm. |
6–9(–10) × 9–15 mm. |
Ray florets | 75–150; corollas blue to lavender, rarely whitish, 8–16 mm (mostly 1 mm wide), laminae slightly coiling at least at tips. |
40–90; corollas white to pink or purplish, 5–9 mm, laminae (filiform, 0.3–0.8 mm wide, involute) erect, not coiling or reflexing. |
Disc corollas | 4–5 mm. |
4–5 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 2–3(–4) series, usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely hirsuto-pilose, minutely glandular. |
in 2–3 series, sparsely pilose (hairs 1–3 mm, with colored cross walls) or glabrous, minutely glandular. |
Heads | (2–)4–20 in corymbiform arrays. |
1. |
Cypselae | 1.5–1.8 mm, 2(–4)-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 20–30 bristles. |
1.8–2.7 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose to glabrate; pappi: outer 0 (or inconspicous), inner of 28–40 (pinkish to purplish) bristles. |
2n | = 18. |
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Erigeron speciosus |
Erigeron purpuratus |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Dry or moist, gravelly or loamy soil, prairies, yellow pine, pine-fir, spruce-fir, aspen-spruce | Sandy and gravelly stream banks, gravel bars, sandy beaches, gravelly slopes, alpine tundra |
Elevation | (600–)900–3400 m ((2000–)3000–11200 ft) | 100–1400 m (300–4600 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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AK; YT
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Discussion | The population in Baja California is disjunct from the closest range in Arizona and northern Nevada. Plants glabrous and glandular on the phyllaries, stems, and leaves have been recognized as var. macranthus; they intergrade with hairier forms and do not show a coherent geographic pattern. Plants commonly identified as Erigeron subtrinervis var. conspicuus usually have stems sparsely hirsuto-pilose with hairs 1–1.5 mm, and the leaves commonly are ciliate on the margins and veins. As implied in the nomenclatural combination by Breitung, those plants are more similar to E. speciosus than to E. subtrinervis, and they apparently show part of the greater variability of E. speciosus in the northwestern part of its range (Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming), where more typical plants also occur. Erigeron speciosus and E. subtrinervis are sympatric over large parts of their ranges and appear to be at least partially reproductively isolated entities, although intermediates are frequently encountered. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The erect, involute ray laminae of Erigeron purpuratus, E. denalii, and E. pallens distinguish them from other species of sect. Tridactylia. Distinctions among these species were studied by G. L. Nesom and D. F. Murray (2004). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 330. | FNA vol. 20, p. 302. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Erigeron |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Stenactis speciosa, E. conspicuus, E. macranthus, E. speciosus var. conspicuus, E. speciosus var. macranthus, E. subtrinervis subsp. conspicuus, E. subtrinervis var. conspicuus | |
Name authority | (Lindley) de Candolle: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 5: 284. (1836) | Greene: Pittonia 4: 155. (1900) |
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