Erigeron pumilus

Erigeron pumilus, the shaggy fleabane,^[3] or vernal daisy, is a hairy North American species of perennial plants in the family Asteraceae.^[4]: 32 It is widespread across much of western Canada and the western United States, from British Columbia east to Saskatchewan and south as far as Oklahoma and the San Bernardino Mountains of California.^[5][3] There have been reports of the plant growing in Yukon Territory, but these were based on misidentified specimens.^[6]

Erigeron pumilus
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Erigeron
Species:	E. pumilus
Binomial name
Erigeron pumilus Nutt.
Synonyms[1][2]
Synonymy Erigeron pumilum Nutt. Tessenia pumila (Nutt.) Lunell Erigeron hirsutus Pursh 1813 not Lour. 1790 Erigeron pumilus f. diabolicus Cronquist Erigeron sulcatus Nees 1841 not Meyen 1834 Fragmosa pumila (Nutt.) Raf. Erigeron hispidissimus (Hook.) Piper, syn of var. intermedius Erigeron pumilus var. gracilior Cronquist, syn of var. intermedius Erigeron pumilus subsp. intermedius Cronquist, syn of var. intermedius Erigeron strigosus var. hispidissimus Hook., syn of var. intermedius

Erigeron pumilus is a perennial herb up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall with a thick taproot. Leaves and stems are both covered with many stiff hairs. Flower heads usually come in groups of 1-5 heads, but occasionally in large arrays of as many as 50. Each head has 50–100 white or pink (rarely pale blue) ray florets surrounding many yellow disc florets. The species grows mostly on dry slopes and plains, often among sagebrush or in prairies.^[7]

"Pumilus" means "dwarf", referring to the small size of this hairy little plant.^[4]: 32

Varieties^[7][3]

• Erigeron pumilus var. intermedius (Cronquist) Cronquist - British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
• Erigeron pumilus var. pumilus - Alberta, Saskatchewan, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Washington, Wyoming