Erigeron

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Genus of plants in family Asteraceae

title: "Erigeron" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["erigeron", "asteraceae-genera", "botanical-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus"] description: "Genus of plants in family Asteraceae" topic_path: "general/erigeron" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erigeron" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of plants in family Asteraceae ::

|name=Fleabane |image=Erigeron Glaucus.jpg |image_caption=Erigeron glaucus, seaside daisy |display_parents=3 |taxon=Erigeron |authority=L. |diversity=Around 460 species |diversity_link=List of Erigeron species |diversity_ref= |synonyms_ref= |synonyms={{collapsible list|bullets=true |title=Synonymy |Astradelphus J.Rémy |Polyactis Less. |Dimorphanthes Cass. |Fragmosa Raf. |Woodvillea DC. |Stenactis Cass. |Terranea Colla |Conyzoides Fabr. |Trimorpha Cass. |Eschenbachia Moench |Brachyactis Ledeb. |Musteron Raf. |Heterochaeta DC. 1836, illegitimate homonym not Besser 1827 (Poaceae) |Polyactidium DC. |Wyomingia A.Nelson |Fimbrillaria Cass. |Trimorphaea Cass. |Phalacroloma Cass. |Asterigeron Rydb. |Achaetogeron A.Gray |Gusmania J.Rémy |Diplemium Raf.

Erigeron () is a large genus of plants in the composite family (Asteraceae). It is placed in the tribe Astereae and is closely related to the Old World asters (Aster) and the true daisies (Bellis). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and the highest diversity occurs in North America.

Etymology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Erigeron_annuus_-_flower_view_01.jpg" caption="''[[Erigeron annuus]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Chalchuán_(Erigeron_longipes).jpg" caption="''[[Erigeron longipes]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Erigeron_bonariensis,_Santa_Coloma_de_Farners.jpg" caption="''[[Erigeron bonariensis]]''"] ::

Its English name, fleabane, is shared with related plants in several other genera. It appears to be derived from a belief that the dried plants repelled fleas or that the plants were poisonous to fleas. Botanist Thomas Meehan, though, calls "fleabane" a misnomer for North American species, rarely used in the United States "until it was employed in botanical works".

The generic name Erigeron is derived from the Ancient Greek words ἦρι (êri) "early in the morning" and γέρων (gérōn) "old man", a reference to the appearance of the white hairs of the fruit soon after flowering or possibly alluding to the early appearance of the seed heads. The noun γέρων is masculine, so that specific epithets should have masculine endings (e.g. glaucus) to agree with it. However, authors have incorrectly used neuter endings (e.g. glaucum), because the ending -on resembles the ending of Ancient Greek neuter second declension nouns, as Augustin Pyramus de Candolle did in his 1836 account of the genus.

Description

The species may be annuals, biennials, or perennials. They are well-branched with erect stems, characterized by their numerous white, lavender, or pink ray flowers and yellow disc flowers. Some members of this group have no ray flowers. The pappus (=modified calyx, forming a crown) is shorter than in Aster and consists of bristles. The ray florets are narrower than in Aster but are longer than the involucre (=whorled bracts).

Cultivation

Many species are used as ornamental plants, with numerous named cultivars such as 'Wayne Roderick', 'Charity', 'Foersters Liebling', and 'Dunkelste aller' ("The darkest of all" with semi-double, deep-violet flower heads).

Ecology

Erigeron species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Bucculatrix angustata, Coleophora squamosella (which feeds exclusively on E. acris), Schinia intermontana, Schinia obscurata (both of which also feed exclusively on Erigeron), Schinia sexata (which feeds exclusively on E. glabellus) and Schinia villosa. Above-ground biomass of Erigeron in montane meadows decreases with decreased water availability/increased temperatures.

Selected species

Main article: List of Erigeron species

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online lists around 460 species of plants in the genus Erigeron. Selected species include:

The following names are not accepted in Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online database:

References

References

  1. [https://archive.today/20141122173513/http://dixon.iplantcollaborative.org/CompositaeWeb/default.aspx?Page=NameDetails&TabNum=0&NameId=33954188-64c1-4ba9-8bc8-4ca796e4b229 Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist ]
  2. (1995). "Sunset Western Garden Book". Sunset Books.
  3. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358884#page/305/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 863-865] in Latin
  4. [http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40005058 Tropicos, ''Erigeron'' L.]
  5. (2008). "RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants". Dorling Kindersley.
  6. [http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Erigeron The Plant List, search for ''Erigeron'']
  7. [[Frances Perry (gardener). Frances Perry]] wrote in ''Collins Guide to Border Plants'' (2nd edition, 1956) p.146 that it was reputed to repel insects but that the name referred to a tropical species which has a particularly strong odour
  8. see [[Oxford English Dictionary]] under 'Flea-bane' and under 'Bane' para 2.b. The earliest quotation cited in the O.E.D. is dated 1813 when [[Humphry Davy]] in ''Elements of Agricultural Chemistry'' stated that the fleabane of Canada had only recently been found in Europe
  9. Meehan, Thomas. (1880). "The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States in Their Botanical, Horticultural and Popular Aspects". L. Prang And Company.
  10. (1995). "Plants and their names: a concise dictionary". Oxford University Press.
  11. [[Frances Perry (gardener). Frances Perry]]: ''Collins Guide to Border Plants'' 2nd edition (1956) p.145
  12. {{LSJ. ge/rwn. γέρων. longref
  13. de Candolle, Augustin Pyramus. (1836). "Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis".
  14. "RHS Plant Selector - ''Erigeron'' 'Dunkelste Aller'".
  15. (March 2001). "Plant Responses to Experimental Warming in a Montane Meadow". Ecology.
  16. Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "[[Flora of North America]]". Oxford University Press.
  17. (1753). "Species plantarum: exhibentes plantas rite cognitas ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas". Junk.
  18. "Erigeron".
  19. "''Erigeron'' L.". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]].

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