Erigeron glaucus

Erigeron glaucus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Astereae
Genus:	Erigeron
Species:	E. glaucus
Binomial name
	Erigeron glaucus; Ker Gawl.
Synonyms
	Synonymy Aster bonariensis Spreng. ; Aster californicus Less. ; Aster glaucus (Ker Gawl.) Pépin 1832 not Nees 1818 ; Erigeron hispidus Nutt. ; Erigeron maritimus Nutt. ; Erigeron squarrosus Lindl. ; Stenactis glauca (Ker Gawl.) Nees ;

Erigeron glaucus is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name seaside fleabane, beach aster, or seaside daisy.

This wildflower is native to the coastline of Oregon and California where it grows on beaches, coastal bluffs and dunes. This is a perennial daisy reaching heights between 5 and 30 centimetres (2.0 and 11.8 in) with branching, nodding stems which may be glandular and hairy to hairless. It grows from a stout rhizome and produces thick, firm, rounded to spoon-shaped leaves, sometimes with a few teeth along the edges, each two to 13 centimeters (0.3-5.2 inches) long.^[2] Its stems bear inflorescences of one to 15 flower heads which are variable in size from one to over three centimeters (0.4-1.2 inches) wide. The centers contain golden yellow disc florets and the edges are fringed with ray florets which may be long or quite short, and are shades of deep blue and purple to nearly white. While typical habitats include coastal bluffs, one highly specialised plant association is found within the two Cupressus macrocarpa dominant forests in Monterey County, California.^[3]^[4]

Ecology

Erigeron glaucus occurs in several different plant associations. One of the specialized habitats is within the Monterey Cypress forests of the Central California coast.^[5]