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Running Fleabane - Erigeron flagellaris
General Description
This is a taprooted biennial or short-lived perennial species, with trailing stems rooting at the leaf nodes, and erect stems up to 20 cm tall. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, broadest above the middle, and up to 5 cm long, including the petiole. The stem leaves are linear and 1-3 cm long. The herbage is covered with appressed hairs. The flowering heads are solitary at the ends of the stalks. The involucral bracts are 3-5 mm long, and usually covered with fine hair and glands. The 50-100 rays that compose the "petals" of the flowering head are white to pink and 5-10 mm long. The "seeds" (achenes) have 10-15 fine bristles at the top.
Phenology
Flowering late June through August.
Diagnostic Characteristics
The leafy stolons distinguish this species from all other members of the genus.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
BC, AB, ND, south to CA, AZ, NM, TX and Mexico (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 9
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Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Open soil in meadows and open forest in the montane zone.
Ecology
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus bifarius,
Bombus centralis,
Bombus fervidus,
Bombus flavifrons,
Bombus huntii,
Bombus melanopygus,
Bombus mixtus,
Bombus rufocinctus,
Bombus occidentalis, and
Bombus insularis (Thorp et al. 1983, Wilson et al. 2010, Colla and Dumesh 2010, Koch et al. 2012).
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- Colla, S.R. and S. Dumesh. 2010. The bumble bees of southern Ontario: notes on natural history and distribution. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario 141:39-68.
- Koch, J., J. Strange, and P. Williams. 2012. Bumble bees of the western United States. Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service, Pollinator Partnership. 143 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Thorp, R.W., D.S. Horning, and L.L. Dunning. 1983. Bumble bees and cuckoo bumble bees of California (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 23:1-79.
- Wilson, J.S., L.E. Wilson, L.D. Loftis, and T. Griswold. 2010. The montane bee fauna of north central Washington, USA, with floral associations. Western North American Naturalist 70(2): 198-207.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Running Fleabane"