Erigeron foliosus

Perennials, 20–100 cm; taprooted, woody, with caudexlike branches 2–15 cm, or leafy stems arising directly from roots; single plants usually bowl-shaped, with up to a 65 cm lateral spread. Stems erect or ascending (often purple, distal branches stiff, spreading-ascending, without axillary leaf tufts), glabrous or sparsely strigose (hairs straight, ascending-appressed), sometimes minutely glandular distally. Leaves cauline; blades 1-nerved (often sharply folding in narrower forms), filiform or linear to oblanceolate, 10–65 × 1–5(–10) mm, relatively even-sized (mid and distal longer than internodes), margins entire, ciliate (cilia ascending-appressed, thick-based), faces glabrous or sparsely strigose, eglandular. Heads 1 or 2–5 in loosely corymbiform arrays. Involucres 3.2–6.5 × 7–12(–14) mm. Phyllaries in 3–5 series (outer: margins stramineous, with distal, greenish, rhomboid patches; inner: margins narrow, scarious), glabrous or moderately to densely strigoso-hirsute, sparsely and obscurely to densely and prominently minutely glandular. Ray florets 15–60; corollas white to blue, 5–15 mm, laminae not coiling or reflexing. Disc corollas 3.5–5.5 mm (throats slightly indurate, not inflated). Cypselae (1.8–)2.2–3 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner of 19–34 bristles.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Calif., nw Mexico.

Discussion

Varieties 5 (5 in the flora).

Erigeron foliosus and its close relatives, including varieties, were mapped in detail by G. L. Nesom (1992b).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Erigeron foliosus var. confinis, Erigeron foliosus var. foliosus, Erigeron foliosus var. franciscensis, Erigeron foliosus var. hartwegii, Erigeron foliosus var. mendocinus

Key

1	Phyllaries 0.5–0.8 mm wide, margins usually thick or only narrowly scarious, abaxial faces sometimes sparsely and obscurely glandular	> 2
1	Phyllaries 0.8–1 mm wide, margins usually broadly scarious, abaxial faces densely and prominently glandular	> 3
2	Leaves (30–)40–60 mm, apices usually acute, often mostly with 1-directional orientation to one side of stems; inner phyllaries (4–)5–6 mm; ray corollas 8–13 mm	Erigeron foliosus var. hartwegii
2	Leaves 20–40(–50) mm, apices usually rounded, without a prominent 1-directional orientation; inner phyllaries 3.2–4.5 mm; ray corollas 6–10 mm	Erigeron foliosus var. foliosus
3	Phyllaries glabrous; leaves mostly 1–2 mm wide	Erigeron foliosus var. confinis
3	Phyllaries moderately to densely strigoso-hirsute; leaves mostly 2–4 mm wide	> 4
4	Leaf faces sparsely to moderately strigose; phyllaries with prominent, raised, orange-resinous midnerves; ray corollas 7–10 mm	Erigeron foliosus var. franciscensis
4	Leaf faces glabrous or glabrate except for ascending-ciliate margins and midveins; phyllaries usually without distinct, orange-resinous midnerves; ray corollas 10–15 mm	Erigeron foliosus var. mendocinus