Feather-leaf fleabane

Erigeron compositus Pursh var. pinnatisectus A. Gray, Notes Compositae, 90. 1880

Perennials, 4–11 cm; taprooted, caudex branches usually relatively thick, woody. Stems erect, sparsely to moderately hispidulous and minutely glandular, sometimes merely glandular. Leaves mostly basal and proximal (persistent); basal blades spatulate to obovate (often folding), 20–40(–50) × 5–10 mm, margins pinnatifid (lobes linear), faces usually glabrate, sometimes sparsely hirsute, usually minutely glandular; cauline blades mostly linear, abruptly reduced distally or nearly absent, margins entire, usually coarsely ciliate. Heads 1. Involucres 5.5–8 × 9–13 mm. Phyllaries in 3–5 series, sparsely hispidulous to hirsuto-villous, minutely glandular. Ray florets 40–70; corollas usually light blue, sometimes slightly purplish, drying bluish or fading lighter, 7–12 mm, laminae reflexing. Disc corollas 3.8–4.5 mm. Cypselae 1.5–1.8 mm, 2-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi: outer of setae, inner (persistent) of 25–30 bristles, with outer setae.

Flowering late Jun–Aug. Bluffs and ledges, moraines, subalpine and alpine meadows; 2700–3700(–4000) m; Colo., N.Mex., Wyo.