Rocky Mountain wild-daisy is a somewhat tufted perennial with 

 erect, leafy stems and daisylike flower heads with lilac or bluish 

 purple ray flowers. The .specific name macranthus, derived from the 

 Greek macros, long (hence, loosely, large), and anthot, flower, refers 

 to the relatively large flower heads of this species. Rocky Moun- 

 tain wild-daisy, as the name implies, occurs chiefly in the moun- 

 tains from British Columbia to Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, South 

 Dakota, and Alberta. This species is found mainly in the upper 

 ponderosa pine, aspen, lodgepole pine, and spruce belts in parks, 

 meadows, and burns and in the sagebrush and aspen types, but also 

 occurs in cut-over and other open timber stands, although usually 

 it .does not grow in dense shade. It is a common weed in the better, 

 moderately moist soils and is frequently locally abundant. 



The palatability of Rocky Mountain wild-daisy apparently varies 

 in different localities. In Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, and parts 

 of Idaho, where this species is most abundant, it usually rates as 

 poor cattle forage and fair to fairly good for sheep. Elsewhere it 

 is considered practically worthless as cattle forage and only poor 

 forage for sheep. Under normal conditions, horses practically never 

 crop this plant. Deer and elk graze it somewhat, but it probably is 

 only an incidental item in the forage they graze. However, since 

 it is relatively tall and leafy, and is very common and sometimes 

 locally abundant on the mountain ranges, the species, undoubtedly, 

 supplies a considerable amount of forage despite its low palatability. 



Although it bears a general resemblance to certain sister species of 

 Erigeron, as well as to some of the asters (Aster spp.), Rocky Moun- 

 tain wild-daisy is usually easy to identify if careful attention is 

 paid to its species characters. The one to several flower heads are 

 borne in somewhat flat-topped clusters on comparatively short stalks 

 arising from the upper leaf axils. The central portion of the head 

 (disk) is about five-eighths of an inch wide and is composed of flow- 

 ers with tubular yellow corollas. The border of the head is formed 

 of numerous flowers with very narrow, lilac to bluish purple, strap- 

 shaped corollas about one-half of an inch long. The bracts sur- 

 rounding the base of the flower heads are in two rows, somewhat 

 spreading, narrow, about equal in length, and finely glandular but 

 not hairy. The stems are erect and unbranched, solitary or tufted, 

 and usually very leafy. The leaves are alternate, entire, conspicu- 

 ously long-hairy on the margins, distinctly three-nerved, and dull 

 green in color. The basal leaves are about 2 to 4 inches long, reverse- 

 lance-shaped, and stalked; the stem leaves are oval to narrowly 

 lance-shaped, stalkless, the lower ones being nearly as large as the 

 basal leaves. This handsome plant is hardy and has proved to be 

 very satisfactory in ornamental cultivation. 



