Fish Creek fleabane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fish Creek fleabane |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Erigeron
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| Species: |
piscaticus
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The Erigeron piscaticus, also known as the Fish Creek fleabane, is a special kind of flowering plant. It's quite rare and belongs to the daisy or sunflower family. This plant is only found naturally in Arizona, in the United States. You can find it in just three spots across Maricopa and Graham Counties.
What Does the Fish Creek Fleabane Look Like?
The Fish Creek fleabane is an annual herb. This means it grows, flowers, and dies within one year. It has stems that can grow up to 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) tall. These stems are usually hairy and might feel a bit sticky because they have tiny glands.
Leaves and Roots
The plant has oval-shaped leaves. Each leaf is about 1 to 2 centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inches) long. Most of the leaves have smooth edges. The plant also has a main root that grows straight down, called a taproot.
Flowers
The Fish Creek fleabane produces flower heads. You'll usually see one to four flower heads on each stem. Each flower head is surrounded by small, hairy, and glandular leaf-like parts called phyllaries. Inside these heads, there are usually 45 to 58 white ray florets. These are the parts that look like petals, and each one is about 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) long.
Where Does It Live?
This unique plant likes to grow in specific places. You can find it on river terraces, which are flat areas next to rivers. It also grows in washes, which are dry streambeds that sometimes fill with water after rain.
The "Fish Creek" part of its common name comes from Fish Creek Canyon. This canyon is located in Maricopa County, Arizona. It's where the very first plant sample, known as the type specimen, was collected and used to officially describe this species.
