Cascade fleabane facts for kids

Erigeron cascadensis, also known as the Cascade fleabane, is a type of flowering plant found in North America. It belongs to the daisy family, which includes many familiar flowers like sunflowers and dandelions. This special plant grows only in the state of Oregon in the northwestern United States. You can mostly find it in high-up meadows within the Cascades mountain range.

What is Cascade Fleabane?

The Cascade fleabane is a perennial herb. This means it's a plant with soft stems (not woody like a tree) that lives for more than two years. It can grow up to about 15 centimeters (or 6 inches) tall. That's about the length of a pencil!

Roots and Stems

This plant has a strong taproot. A taproot is a main root that grows straight down into the soil, like a carrot. This helps the plant find water deep underground and stay firmly in place.

Flowers and Blooms

Each Cascade fleabane plant can produce several flower heads. What looks like a single flower is actually a cluster of many tiny flowers. Sometimes, there's one flower head per branch, and other times they grow in small groups of two or three. Each flower head is quite pretty, with 30 to 50 white or purple ray florets. These are the petal-like parts around the edge. In the center, you'll find many yellow disc florets, which are the tiny flowers that make up the "eye" of the daisy.

Where Does Cascade Fleabane Grow?

The Cascade fleabane is unique because it's only found in Oregon. It prefers to live in subalpine meadows. These are open, grassy areas found at high elevations in mountains, just below the tree line. The cool, moist conditions of the Cascades mountain range are perfect for this plant to thrive. It was first described in the year 1900.