Showy Fleabane

The Showy Fleabane (Erigeron speciosus) does not really look like a wildflower. As another member of the Aster family, it resembles many cultivated aster-like garden flowers planted in public places throughout our region. It blooms all summer and can live at most elevations below alpine regions. Also called the Aspen Fleabane, it is native to Oregon and Washington.

The "fleabane" part of the common name is derived from the belief that the dried plants repelled fleas; the name Erigeron is derived from the Greek (eri = early; geron = old man), a reference to the appearance of the white hairs of the fruit soon after flowering.

There are 390 species in the Erigeron genus, making it a large family tree, so to speak! You may have some of them growing in your yard!

We spotted these Showy Fleabanes at Bald Peak State Park on 7/03/2013. It was a small clump, in tall grass, near the summit marker.