About Erigeron vagus Payson
Erigeron vagus Payson, commonly called rambling fleabane, is a high-elevation flowering plant species in the Asteraceae family. It is native to mountain peaks of the western United States, where it grows on talus slopes. It can sometimes be found growing above the tree line, and other times it grows in open coniferous forests. This species occurs in several geographically isolated locations: eastern California (including the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains), southern Utah, southern Colorado, northeastern Nevada’s Elko County, and northeastern Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains. Erigeron vagus is a small perennial herb that grows up to a maximum height of around 5 centimeters (2 inches). It forms a taproot and a branched underground caudex. Its stem and small cluster of basal leaves are covered in glandular hairs. Each stem produces one flower head in its inflorescence. The underside of each flower head is lined with hairy phyllaries that have purple tips. Every flower head contains 25 to 40 white or pink ray florets, which surround a center of many yellow disc florets.
