Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

ANNUAL FLEABANE

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Erigeron annuus (L. ) Pers.

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 2-5 feet

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July, August

Also Called:

White-top.

Stems:

Erect, branched, firm, usually round in cross-section, sparingly to densely bristly-hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple; lower leaves more or less bristly-hairy, elliptic to broadly ovate, up to 4 inches long, .5 to 2.8 inches wide, (rarely larger); margins coarsely toothed; blade tapering into long stalk; stem leaves numerous, broadly lanceolate; margins mostly toothed or rarely nearly entire, conspicuously bristly-hairy near base.

Inflorescences:

Corymb of several to numerous heads, broad, open, bracted.

Flowers:

Involucral bracts nearly equal, glandular or long-hairy, tips tapering to points; ray florets 80-125, ligule white or rarely light blue, up to 2/5 inch long; disk florets numerous, yellow.

Fruits:

Achene, egg-shaped, flattened, straw-colored, pubescent; pappus of ray florets only short scales; pappus of disk florets both hair-like bristles and short scales.

Habitat:

Disturbed areas, prairies, waste ground, roadsides, and fields; open, moist or drying sites.

Distribution:

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Forage Value:

Sheep readily consume this weedy species and will control it through grazing. White-tailed deer eat the foliage.

See also daisy fleabane (Erigeron strigosus) and Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus).

Annual fleabane