COMPOSITE FAMILY COMPOSITAE 
COMMON FLEABANE 
Erigeron philadelphicus L. 
The Common Fleabane is perennial and usually grows in 
rather moist open places throughout the United States. It begins 
blooming in early spring, usually April, and continues until 
XW ; August. 
IZ The stem is hairy, rather slender, 
SSeS mostly branched near the top and is 
WEG. 3 
PNG ASS 1-3 feet high. It bears obovate, ses- 
Z ili sile and ats entire leaves of which 
the lowest are often toothed and 
taper into short petioles, whereas the 
upper are clasping and frequently 
somewhat heart shaped at the base. 
The several to many heads are 
less than 1 inch broad. The bracts of 
the involucre are narrow and ap- 
proximately equal in length. The 
rays are rose-purple to pinkish, very 
narrow and numerous, usually more 
than 100. They and the yellow disk 
flowers produce minutely hairy 
akenes. The pappus is a single row of 
white bristles. The akenes are cov- 
ered with very short hairs. 
Robin’s Plantain, Erigeron pul- 
chellus Michx., is a soft-haired species 
perennial by stolons. It grows on dry 
f . hills and banks from Nova Scotia to 
| \ Ontario and Minnesota, south to Florida 
! and Louisiana, and blooms from April 
to June. The stem is hairy, unbranched and 1-2 feet high. Most of 
the leaves are at the base, 1-3 inches long, 1-2 inches wide and oc- 
casionally somewhat toothed. The stem leaves are few and far apart, 
sessile, partly clasping and mostly entire. The heads are few and large, 
usually more than 1 inch broad. There are usually about 50 light — 
blue-purple rays one-half inch or more in length. The disk flowers 
are yellow and the akenes nearly smooth. The pappus is a single row 
of bristles. : ) 
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