About Erigeron pumilus Nutt.
Erigeron pumilus, commonly called shaggy fleabane or vernal daisy, is a hairy perennial North American plant species in the Asteraceae family. It is widespread across much of western Canada and the western United States, ranging from British Columbia east to Saskatchewan and south to Oklahoma and the San Bernardino Mountains of California. Reports of this species growing in Yukon Territory are based on misidentified specimens, so it does not actually occur there. Erigeron pumilus is a perennial herb that grows up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall, and it has a thick taproot. Both its leaves and stems are covered in many stiff hairs. Its flower heads usually grow in groups of 1 to 5, but occasionally form large arrays with as many as 50 heads. Each flower head holds 50–100 white or pink (rarely pale blue) ray florets, which surround a center of many yellow disc florets. This species grows mostly on dry slopes and plains, and it is often found among sagebrush or in prairies. The specific epithet "pumilus" means "dwarf", a reference to the small size of this small, hairy plant. Two varieties are recognized: Erigeron pumilus var. intermedius (Cronquist) Cronquist, which usually has pink ray florets and is found in British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming; and Erigeron pumilus var. pumilus, which usually has white ray florets and is found in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming.
