Erigeron mariposanus

Mariposa daisy

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1A

Mariposa daisy is a rare (CNPS 1A) California native perennial herb found in the Sierra Nevada Foothills in foothill woodland at elevations of 600 to 800 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces blue ray flowers 7 to 9 millimeters long with flower heads 8 to 12 millimeters in diameter. Growing 15 to 28 centimeters tall with decumbent to ascending stems that are sparsely hairy, it develops from a short, slender-branched caudex. Its leaves are oblanceolate, 25 to 45 millimeters long and 5 to 8 millimeters wide, with sparse strigose hairs and often forming tufts in leaf axils. The flower heads appear singly or in small clusters of up to 4, with phyllaries featuring distinctive orange-resinous midribs and widely scarious, wing-like margins.

Habitat: Foothill woodland

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 600-800 m

Bioregions: SNF.

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