Erigeron is a genus of herbaceous, flowering plants consisting of between 390 and 460 species and is a member of the aster/sunflower family (Asteraceae). Plants in this genus are annuals, biennials, or perennials and are mainly found in temperate regions around the world. At least 163 species occur in the contiguous United States. Erigeron diversity is particularly high in western states; however, each state is home to at least one Erigeron species.

A common name for plants in this genus is fleabane. This name comes from an outdated belief that the plants can be used to repel or poison fleas, flies, gnats, and other tiny insects, a belief for which there is no evidence. In Ancient Greek, the name Erigeron is said to mean something akin to “old man in the early morning,” likely referring to the appearance of the seed heads which look like little tufts of white hair. Some Erigeron species are also commonly referred to as daisies.

One species of Erigeron that I would like you to meet is Erigeron linearis. While most of the plants in this genus have flowers that are white, pink, or various shades of purple, E. linearis is a yellow-flowered species, hence the common name, desert yellow fleabane. Another common name for this plant is narrow leaved fleabane, a reference to its linear leaves. E. linearis is a small plant with a prominent taproot that reaches up to 20 centimeters tall and forms a leafy, rounded mat or cushion of whitish or gray-green, alternately arranged leaves. The white appearance is due to numerous, fine, appressed hairs on the leaves and stems. Flower stalks are produced in abundance in late spring through early summer and are mostly leafless. They reach above the mound of leaves and are each topped with at least one flower head, which nods at first, but then straightens out as the flowers open. Each flower head is about 2 centimeters wide and is typical of plants in the sunflower family, with a cluster of deep yellow disc florets in the center, surrounded by ray florets that are lighter in color. Both disc and ray florets are fertile; however, the disc florets have both “male” (stamens) and “female” (pistils) flower parts, while the ray florets have only “female” parts. The involucre, which sits at the base of the flowers, is egg-shaped or hemispheric and made up of a series of tiny, fuzzy bracts called phyllaries.

The fruit of Erigeron linearis is called a cypsela, an achene-like fruit that is characteristic of plants in the sunflower family. The fruits are miniscule and topped with a pappus composed of short outer bristles and longer, pale, inner bristles. The two types of pappus bristles (or double pappus) must be the reason for the scientific name this species was originally given in 1834, Diplopappus linearis. While the seeds of more than 80% of flowering plant species found in dryland regions exhibit some form of dormancy, a study published in Plant Biology (2019), found that E. linearis is one of the few species with non-dormant seeds. This means that for those of us interested in growing plants native to the Intermountain West, E. linearis is a pretty easy one to grow and is a great addition to water-wise gardens, pollinator gardens, and rock gardens.

Erigeron linearis is distributed across several western states and into Canada. It is found in northern California, eastern Oregon and Washington, southern British Columbia, across Idaho and east into southern Montana, western Wyoming and northwestern Utah. It is found at low to moderate elevations in open, rocky foothills, grasslands, sagebrush steppe, and juniper woodlands. It prefers well-drained soils and full sun. It is one of many interesting plants found on lithosols (also known as orthents), which are shallow, poorly develop soils consisting of partially weathered rock fragments. In the book Sagebrush Country, Ronald Taylor calls lithosols “the rock gardens of the sagebrush steppe,” and refers to E. linearis and other members of its genus as “some of the more colorful components of the lithosol gardens.” E. linearis is a food source for pronghorn, mule deer, and greater sage-grouse, and the flowers are visited by several species of bees and butterflies. The plant is also a larval host for sagebrush checkerspots.

Additional Resources:

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Weed of the Month: Fleabane
• GBIF – Erigeron linearis
• Calflora – Erigeron linearis
• Flora of North America – Erigeron linearis
• The Jepson Herbarium – Erigeron linearis