Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Rockslide Fleabane
Erigeron leiomerus
Aster family (Asteraceae)

Although Rockslide daisy Erigeron leiomerus is quite small, it is easy to spot in the rock beds it calls home. Tufts of narrow leaves (often folded inward) are frequently in tight, four inch diameter mats sporting up to a dozen or so flowers on straight, arched, or leaning stems. Flower color ranges from lavender to blue to white, but buds are usually pink/purple. "Leios" is Greek for "smooth" and "merus," "parts," probably referring to some stems and leaves. Charles Parry, famous Colorado botanist, collected this lovely plant around 1880 and Asa Gray named it in 1884.


©2008 Al Schneider

Description

plants with and branching (woody base of non-woody ). Stems 2 to 6" tall, usually sparsely hairy, rarely . Leaves or nearly so at maturity. to narrowly , clustered, petioled. reduced in size and distribution. Flowerheads solitary. about 1/5" high, , slightly shingled. 15-60, 1/5 to nearly 1/2" inches and quite narrow, blue, lavender, or sometimes white. double. a 2- .

Field Marks

Short plant with arching bud stems, tuft of , and white to blue to pink flowers, all most often growing in rocks.

© Al Schneider

nerves -- Another name for a vein.

oblanceolate -- top wider than bottom

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

cauline leaves -- leaves growing on a stem and especially on the upper part.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.

ray flowers -- The outer petals of a sunflower or daisy are ray flowers.

Bracts are modified leaves associated with a flower.

spatulate -- spoon-shaped.

pappus -- Small scales, bristles or hairs at the top of the seed in Asteraceae. For example, dandelion parachutes. Plural: pappi.

taproot -- The primary decending root of a plant.

Glands are plant structures that secrete liquids, salts or other substances. Glands often appear as hairs with a drop of liquid at the end.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

Involucre is the name given to the circle or spiral collection of bracts around a flower-cluster.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

caudex -- The woody stem base of some herbaceous perennials.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.