''Erigeron annuus'' (formerly ''Aster annuus''), the annual fleabane, daisy fleabane, Ann Fowler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block, Ill. Ann Anisko, ''Plants of Pennsylvania'', 2nd ed, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. pp. 923. or eastern daisy fleabane,David M. Brandenburg, ''Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America'', National Wildlife Federation, Sterling Publishing Co., New York, 2010, pp. 150. is a species of

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

, annual or biennial flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

Description

''Erigeron annuus'' often grows as an annual but can sometimes grow as a biennial. It is

with alternate, simple leaves, and green, sparsely hairy stems, which can grow to between 30 and 150 centimeters (about 1 to 5 feet) in height. Leaves are numerous and large relative to other species of ''Erigeron'', with lower leaves, especially basal leaves, coarsely toothed or cleft, a characteristic readily distinguishing this species from most other ''Erigeron.'' Upper leaves are sometimes (not always) toothed, but may have a few coarse teeth towards the outer tips. Erigeron annuus - flower view 02

The

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

are white with yellow centers, with rays that are white to pale lavender, borne spring through fall depending on the individual plant. Ray florets number 40 to 100.

Distribution and habitat

Erigeron annuus - Eastern Daisy Fleabane 2

''Erigeron annuus'' is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It is widespread in most of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, especially in the eastern part of its range, but occurs only in scattered locations in the western and southernmost parts of its range. It has been introduced to many other places, including Korea,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and other areas in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. ''Erigeron annuus'' grows well in full through partial sun on sites with ample moisture. It is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, including gravel and clay. In hot, dry weather, lower leaves often yellow and wither.

Ecology

''Erigeron annuus'' is a native pioneer species that often colonizes disturbed areas such as pastures, abandoned fields, vacant lots, roadsides, railways, and waste areas. In these habitats it competes, often successfully, with introduced invasive weeds. Flowers are pollinated by a variety of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s, including little carpenter bees, cuckoo bees, halictine bees, and masked bees; as well as flies, including syrphid flies,

bee flies The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of fl ...

, tachinid flies,

flesh flies Sarcophagidae () are a family of flies commonly known as flesh flies. They differ from most flies in that they are ovoviviparous, opportunistically depositing hatched or hatching maggots instead of eggs on carrion, dung, decaying material, or o ...

, anthomyiid flies, and muscid flies.

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

s, small

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, and other insects also visit the flowers to a lesser degree, seeking

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

, as well as a few

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

-feeding

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s. ''

Schinia lynx ''Schinia lynx'', the lynx flower moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1881. It is found in North America from Wisconsin, southern Ontario, Quebec and Maine, south to Florida and ...

'' (lynx flower moth) caterpillars feed on the flowers and seeds of annual fleabane and other fleabanes, and '' Lygus lineolaris'' (tarnished plant bug) sucks the plant juices. Some mammals eat the foliage, flowers and stems, including sheep, groundhogs, and rabbits.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q849411 annuus Flora of Northern America Flora of Central America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus