Philadelphia Fleabane


Small daisy like flowers. Perfect for a party for fairies that are surely celebrating spring right about now. Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) is blooming in lovely bunches along the roadside coming up my mountain.

This Fleabane is a biennial or short-lived perennial. Perhaps a bit tall for fairies, it’s nine to thirty inches tall. Its composite flowers are made up of yellow disk flowers and outer ray flowers that can be white, pink, as in this photo, or lavender. Philadelphia Fleabane leaves are alternate. And those leaves clasp the stems, which distinguishes this species from all the other Fleabane species. How many Fleabane species are there? One hundred seventy species in North America, and three hundred ninety species world wide. That’s a bunch!


5 responses to “Philadelphia Fleabane”

  1. May be changing the name of my nearby trail from Grandpapi to Fleabane this time of year!

  2. My yard is alive with these colorful blossoms and they are a joy to watch as they usher in the spring. A visual symphony amongst the violets, dead nettles, buttercups and dandelions.