Erigeron barbellulatus
Shining fleabane
Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native
Shining fleabane is a California native perennial found in northern and central Sierra Nevada Mountains on gravelly or rocky slopes from sagebrush to subalpine forest at elevations of 2,100 to 3,300 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces white to lavender flowers that dry to a bluish tone in heads 15 to 18 millimeters wide. Growing with ascending stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, it emerges from a caudex with slender rhizome-like branches and features white-shiny or purplish stems. Its leaves are predominantly basal, narrowly oblanceolate, 2 to 5 centimeters long and 2 to 5 millimeters wide, with white-shiny hard bases that enclose the lower stem. The ray flowers number 15 to 35, creating a delicate and distinctive appearance in high-elevation alpine habitats.
Habitat: Gravelly or rocky slopes, sagebrush/pine to subalpine forest
Bloom period: Jun-Jul
Elevation: 2100-3300 m
Bioregions: CaRH, n&c SNH.
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.