About Erigeron petrophilus Greene
Erigeron petrophilus, commonly called rockloving erigeron or cliff fleabane, is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. It is native to mountain ranges in California, ranging from Siskiyou County in the north south to San Luis Obispo County and El Dorado County, and also grows in southwestern Oregon. This plant grows in forest and woodland habitats, and as its common name suggests, it often occurs in rocky areas. It sometimes grows on serpentine soils. Erigeron petrophilus is a perennial herb that produces many hairy, glandular, spreading stems growing from a tough, woody caudex. Narrow, oblong leaves of equal size are spaced evenly along each stem. The inflorescence is a cluster of several flower heads; each flower head is just over 0.5 inches (1 centimeter) wide, lined with layers of fuzzy, glandular phyllaries. Each flower head contains many yellow disc florets and no ray florets. The fruit is a small achene with a pappus made of bristles. Three varieties of this species are recognized. Erigeron petrophilus var. petrophilus is found in the Coast Ranges from Siskiyou County to Monterey County. Erigeron petrophilus var. sierrensis, commonly called the Sierra erigeron or northern Sierra daisy, occurs in the northern Sierra Nevada of California from El Dorado County to Plumas County. Erigeron petrophilus var. viscidulus (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom, commonly called the Klamath rock daisy, grows in the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, as well as the Coast Ranges as far south as Sonoma County and the Sierra Nevada foothills in Butte County.
