Common names:
Pygmy fleabane, dwarf alpine daisy
Family:
Scientific name:
Erigeron pygmaeus
Main flower color:
Range:
The Sierra Nevada in California, and two small adjacent areas of west Nevada
Height:
Up to 3 inches
Habitat:
Rocky places along and above the edge of the treeline; 9,500 to 13,500 feet
Leaves:
Linear to narrowly oblanceolate, up to 1.4 inches long, strigose hairy
Season:
July to August
Erigeron pygmaeus grows in the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains, California, extending just a little way into Nevada. the common name, pygmy fleabane, refers to its short stature, rising just a couple of inches in its exposed habitats of rocks and scree at high elevations, though plants are quite noticeable when in bloom owing to their large, showy flowerheads.
Leaves are mostly basal; they have a covering of spreading hairs at the base and along the stem, and shorter hairs on the blade, while the stems are covered by short hairs, spreading and non-glandular. Stems are unbranched, and each is topped by a single flowerhead.
The involucre is lined by purplish, equal-length phyllaries, which have a sticky (glandular) surface, and a covering of spreading, white, non-glandular hairs. There are between 20 and 37 ray florets, around a third of an inch in length, colored pale purple to (less often) white.
Leaves are mostly basal; they have a covering of spreading hairs at the base and along the stem, and shorter hairs on the blade, while the stems are covered by short hairs, spreading and non-glandular. Stems are unbranched, and each is topped by a single flowerhead.
The involucre is lined by purplish, equal-length phyllaries, which have a sticky (glandular) surface, and a covering of spreading, white, non-glandular hairs. There are between 20 and 37 ray florets, around a third of an inch in length, colored pale purple to (less often) white.
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