Fleabane
Here’s another flower from the Pilgrim River wetland on June 26, 2016.
These look superficially like daisies, except that the “ray” florets are more thread-like than petal-like, and there are so many of them that they almost look like hair.
The rays also have just a hint of purple at their tips, while the center is bright canary-yellow.
This looks like one of the “fleabanes”[1] in the genus Erigeron, but I’m not quite sure which one. The University of Michigan Herbarium lists seven species in this genus that are found in the state, but none of their photos look quite right – either the petals are wrong, or the stems are too fat, or the pictures aren’t good enough to be sure. The one that looks closest is probably Hyssop-Leaved Fleabane, which is evidently fairly common in moist areas in Canada, but only dips down into the US in a few places, one of which is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It sounds like it is barely reported locally, so this might be an unusual find!
Then again, I might have just misidentified one of the other 6 species. What do you think?
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[1] The name “fleabane” comes from the belief that the dried plant would either repel or kill fleas. I suppose that people would put it wherever the flea-infested animal slept? The odd thing is, I haven’t found any site that comes right out and says whether this was actually true or not. So, I don’t know, if your dog has flea problems, maybe it’s worth a try?
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OK, I take it back. I love your flora series almost as much as the bugs. Your photography and research are always compelling. Thanks for sharing these with us.
Being a native plant society member, I also am enjoying your wildflower articles and pic.
Don’t know if you can see it, but you have flea treatment ad popping up.