Erigeron compactus
Compact daisy, Compact Daisy
Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3
Compact daisy is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native perennial found in the White and Inyo Mountains in rocky slopes and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 1,800 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces white to lilac flowers with rays 7 to 11 millimeters long, sometimes showing rose or lilac tones and coiling when dry. Growing as a small, tightly clustered herb just 2 to 8 centimeters tall with an unbranched stem covered in short white appressed hairs, it emerges from a short-branched caudex and taproot. Its basal leaves are narrow and linear, 5 to 25 millimeters long, densely covered in fine strigose hairs. The solitary flower head is compact, with involucre 5 to 8 millimeters long and 7 to 17 millimeters in diameter, featuring fine-strigose phyllaries with inconspicuous minute glands.
Habitat: Rocky slopes, pinyon/juniper woodland
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: 1800-2300 m
Bioregions: W&I
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.