Alpine fleabane

Erigeron alpinus, the alpine fleabane, is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae native to mountainous regions across most of Europe except the far north. Plants form a basal rosette of spoon-shaped, hairy, medium-green leaves and produce one to a few erect flowering stems reaching about 30 cm tall. During the summer months, terminal capitula about 3.75 cm across open singly at the tips of the stems. Each head bears narrow, thread-like ray florets in several rows, coloured from lilac-blue to red-purple, surrounding a centre of greenish-yellow disc florets typical of the daisy family. Three subspecies are recognised (subsp. alpinus, subsp. intermedius and subsp. rhodopaeus) which differ in pubescence and ray-floret form. The species grows on stony alpine and subalpine pastures, screes and grassy slopes, generally on calcareous substrates.