[Daisies and Fleabanes: The Genus Erigeron East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Synonyms: Aster annuus, Erigeron annuus var. discoideus
Photo at right of annual fleabane from along the Angel's Rest Trail, Columbia
River Gorge.........July 8, 2002.
Annual fleabane as its name implies is an annual herb, or occasionally a biennial. Its one to several stems are erect, measuring from 60-150 cm high. The stems are often branched. The herbage of the stems usually consists of long, spreading hairs below the inflorescence. The basal leaves are oblanceolate to broadly ovate, and are prominent early in the growing season, but become deciduous as blooming season begins. The stem leaves are broadly lanceolate with coarsely toothed margins. The lower stem leaves measure from 6-12 cm long.
The open inflorescence is large and leafy. The hemispheric involucre is 3-5 mm high and finely glandular and sparsely long-haired. The 80-125 rays are white (occasionally light blue or lilac) and measure to 10 mm long and from 0.5-1 mm wide.
Annual fleabane is a weedy species found in moist disturbed ground, including gardens, ditches, roadsides, trails and waste areas.
Originally from Europe, annual fleabane may be found across much of the United States and southern Canada.
