Erigeron aphanactis var. aphanactis

Rayless shaggy fleabane

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Rayless shaggy fleabane is a California native perennial found in central Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, Great Basin, and Desert Mountains in sagebrush or juniper scrub at elevations of 1,300 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces white to pale lavender disk flowers without ray flowers, creating unique clustered heads. Growing with branched stems generally splitting in the lower half, it reaches heights typical of small desert perennials. Its leaves are simple and narrow, distributed along the stem with increasing sparseness toward the flowering branches. The plant's distinctive chromosome count of 2n=18 contributes to its specialized adaptation to arid mountain environments.

Habitat: Sagebrush or juniper scrub

Bloom period: Apr-Sep

Elevation: 1300-2600 m

Bioregions: c SNH, SnBr, GB, DMtns.

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.