Ontario Weeds: Annual fleabane

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Stems and Leaves
6. Flowers and Fruit
7. Habitat
8. Similar Species
9. Related Links

Name: Annual fleabane, Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers., [ERIAN],

Other Names: Annual daisy fleabane, Daisy fleabane, vergerette annuelle, vergerette perlée, érigéron annuel

Family: Composite or Aster Family (Compositae) 

General Description: Annual or sometimes biennial, reproducing only by seed.

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Photos and Pictures

Annual fleabane. A. Flowering plant.

B. Rosette of basal leaves.

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Stems & Leaves: Stems are erect, 20 - 150 cm (8 - 60 in.) high, short-hairy; First leaves in a basal rosette, broadly elliptic, coarsely toothed, long-stalked, bright green and usually hairy; lower and middle stem leaves similar but narrower, alternate (1 per node), mostly soft-hairy and usually not clasping the stem; upper leaves short-stalked or stalkless and sometimes partly clasping the stem, shallowly toothed or margins nearly smooth;

Flowers & Fruit: Flower heads in open clusters at the ends of stems and branches, each head 12 - 25 mm (½ - 1 in.) across, bright and showy; ray florets white or sometimes pinkish to bluish, narrow, very numerous (up to 80 or more per head); disk florets yellowish and densely packed, forming a nearly flat-topped centre. Flowers from June to late autumn.

Habitat: Annual fleabane occurs throughout Ontario in pastures meadows, waste places, gardens, roadsides and occasionally in cultivated fields.

Similar Species: It is distinguished by its bright green, broadly ovate, coarsely toothed, long-stalked, hairy, basal leaves, at least the lower and middle stem leaves distinctly toothed and soft-hairy, but not strongly clasping the stem, and its showy, white flower heads with yellow centres.

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Related Links

... on general Weed topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

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