Erigeron
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Automatic taxobox
Erigeron (Template:IPAc-en)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is a large genus of plants in the composite family (Asteraceae).Template:R 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.<ref name=flora/><ref>Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 863-865 in Latin</ref><ref>Tropicos, Erigeron L.</ref><ref name=RHSAZ>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>The Plant List, search for Erigeron</ref>
EtymologyEdit
.jpg){kind=link}
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<ref>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</ref> or that the plants were poisonous to fleas.<ref>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</ref> The generic name Erigeron is derived from the Ancient Greek words {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (êri) "early in the morning" and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (gérōn) "old man", a reference to the appearance of the white hairs of the fruit soon after flowering<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or possibly alluding to the early appearance of the seed heads.<ref>Frances Perry: Collins Guide to Border Plants 2nd edition (1956) p.145</ref> The noun {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is masculine,<ref>Template:LSJ</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
DescriptionEdit
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).
CultivationEdit
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).Template:R<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EcologyEdit
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Selected speciesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:As of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online lists around 460 species of plants in the genus Erigeron.Template:R Selected species include:
The following names are not accepted Template:As of in Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online database:Template:R
- Erigeron acer – blue fleabane
- Erigeron corymbosus – long-leaf fleabane
- Erigeron greenei
- Erigeron hultenii – Hulten's fleabane