General:
Perennial herb from a taproot and a short to long, little- to much-branched stem-base; stems erect, simple to much-branched, with stiff, spreading hairs, often also finely glandular and slightly sticky, especially beneath the heads, 5-30 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate, gradually tapered to the stem-bases, stiff-hairy, sometimes sparsely so, 2-8 cm long, 1-8 mm wide, fewer and soon deciduous in larger forms; stem leaves similar or sometimes lacking, reduced upwards.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary to numerous, sometimes as many as 75, the disks 7-15 mm wide; involucres 4-7 mm tall; involucral bracts sparsely to densely spreading stiff-hairy, subequal to equal, the tips long-pointed, green with brown midveins and sometimes narrow, papery margins; ray flowers 50-100 or more, usually white, sometimes pale pink or blue, 6-15 mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide; disk flowers 3-5 mm long.
Fruits:
Achenes 2-nerved, sparsely to moderately short-hairy; pappus double, the inner of 15-27 bristles, the outer of well-developed scales, sometimes intermingled with the inner bristles.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Erigeron pumilus subsp. intermedius Cronquist