ROUGH FLEABANE DAISY 



Erigeron glabellus Nutt. 

 THISTLE FAMILY 



Fleabane daisies are extremely common in Western America. 

 In Rydberg's Flora one hundred species are described, of which 

 probably one-third are found in Canada. A number of these, 

 however, grow only in the mountains. 



The Erigerons are often mistaken for Asters. Without going 

 into botanical details, it may be said that the former bloom in 

 June and July, the latter in August and September. Also, the 

 Erigerons have smaller and much more numerous disk florets, 

 and narrower and more numerous ray florets than the Asters. 

 This may be seen in the picture opposite, where the close firm 

 disk, made up of a multitude of tiny florets, is encircled by a thick 

 fringe of fine rays numbering one hundred or one hundred and 

 fifty. 



The Rough Fleabane grows in dry soil and is common on the 

 prairie. Its stems are from five to fifteen inches high. They 

 and the leaves are usually somewhat rough to the touch, although 

 hardly rough enough to justify the common name of the species. 

 The flower-heads on each stem are few in number, but, as the 

 stems are clustered, the flowers make a pretty show among the 

 grass. Their disks are yellow, and their rays blue, purple, mauve, 

 or occasionally nearly white. 



An earlier-flowering species is so abundant and showy that it 

 must have at least a few words of description. It is the Phila- 

 delphia Fleabane, with upright stems, usually from two feet to 

 three and one-half feet high, each carrying many pink or lavender 

 flowers. Unlike the Rough Fleabane, this species loves wet 

 ground. One may often see stretches of low land brightened 

 by its myriad blossoms, or with even greater pleasure one's eye 

 may trace the winding course of a brook through a meadow, 

 by the bands of these gay flowers along its margins. 



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