''Erigeron'' () is a large genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is closely related to the genus ''

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

'' and the true daisies in the genus ''

Bellis ''Bellis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The group is native to Europe, the Mediterranean and northern Africa. One species has been introduced into North America and others into other parts of the world. The genus ...

''. The genus has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

in dry, mountainous areas and grassland, with the highest diversity in

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 ...

Etymology

Its English name, fleabane, is shared with related plants in several other genera. It appears to be derived from a belief that the dried plants repelled fleas or that the plants were poisonous to fleas. The generic name ''Erigeron'' is derived from the Ancient Greek words (''êri'') "early in the morning" and (''gérōn'') "old man", a reference to the appearance of the white hairs of the fruit soon after flowering or possibly alluding to the early appearance of the seed heads. The noun is

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

, so that specific epithets should have masculine endings (e.g. ''glaucus'') to agree with it. However, authors have incorrectly used neuter endings (e.g. ''glaucum''), because the ending ''-on'' resembles the ending of Ancient Greek neuter second declension nouns, as Augustin Pyramus de Candolle did in his 1836 account of the genus.

Description

The species may be annuals,

biennials A biennial plant is a flowering plant that, generally in a temperate climate, takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Life cycle In its first year, the biennal plant undergoes primary growth, during which its vegetative structures ...

, or perennials. They are well-branched with erect stems, characterized by their numerous white, lavender, or pink ray flowers and yellow disc flowers. Some members of this group have no ray flowers. The pappus (=modified calyx, forming a crown) is shorter than in ''Aster'', and consists of bristles. The ray florets are narrower than in ''Aster'', but are clearly longer than the involucre (=whorled

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s).

Cultivation

Many species are used as ornamental plants, with numerous named cultivars such as 'Wayne Roderick', 'Charity', 'Foersters Liebling', and 'Dunkelste aller' ("The darkest of all" with semidouble, deep-violet flower heads).

Ecology

''Erigeron'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including '' Bucculatrix angustata'', '' Coleophora squamosella'' (which feeds exclusively on ''E. acris''), ''

Schinia intermontana ''Schinia intermontana'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from British Columbia south to Montana, Washington (U.S. State), Washington and Colorado. It was formerly considered a subspecies of ''Schinia villosa''. The larvae feed o ...

'', ''

Schinia obscurata ''Schinia obscurata'', the obscure schinia moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Ontario and Quebec south into the United States, where it has been recorded from Illinois, New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Kansas, Monta ...

'' (both of which also feed exclusively on ''Erigeron''), ''

Schinia sexata ''Schinia sexata'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America, where it is known only from southern Manitoba, Canada.Hardwick, D. F. (1996). A monograph to the North American Heliothentinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Centre f ...

'' (which feeds exclusively on ''E. glabellus'') and ''

Schinia villosa ''Schinia villosa'', the little dark gem, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1864. In North America, it is mostly a western mountain species, however it has also been found across t ...

''.

Selected species

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

lists around 460 species of plants in the genus ''Erigeron''. Selected species include: The following names are not accepted in Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online database: *''

Erigeron acer ''Erigeron acer'' is a widespread herbaceous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names include bitter fleabane and blue fleabane. The species is native to Canada, colder parts of the United States, northern, central, and southeastern ...

'' – blue fleabane *''

Erigeron austiniae ''Erigeron austiniae'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name sagebrush fleabane. It is sometimes considered a variety of '' Erigeron chrysopsidis''. It is native to the western United States from northe ...

'' *''

Erigeron corymbosus ''Erigeron corymbosus '' is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name long-leaf fleabane. It is found in western Canada (British Columbia) and the western United States (Washington, Oregon, Id ...

'' – long-leaf fleabane *''

Erigeron greenei ''Erigeron greenei'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Greene's narrow-leaved daisy . ''Erigeron greenei'' is an uncommon species with a restricted range. It has been found only in ...

'' *''

Erigeron hultenii ''Erigeron hultenii'' is a rare North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known as Hulten's fleabane. It has been found in the state of Alaska in the United States, from Campbell Creek Valley about 11 miles (17.6 k ...

'' – Hulten's fleabane *''

Erigeron irazuensis ''Erigeron irazuensis'' is a Central American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It has been found only in Costa Rica. ''Erigeron irazuensis'' is a perennial herb up to 25 cm (10 inches) tall, producing a branching under ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q745253 Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus