Starved daisy facts for kids

Erigeron miser, also called the starved daisy or starved fleabane, is a type of flowering plant. It belongs to the daisy family. This plant is special because it is only found in one place: the northern High Sierra Nevada mountains in California.

Starved Daisy: A Unique California Plant

The starved daisy is a plant that grows in tough places. It likes to live in cracks in rocks. You can also find it in forests with cone-bearing trees, like pines. It also grows in areas called talus, which are slopes covered in broken rocks.

What Does the Starved Daisy Look Like?

The starved daisy is a perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for many years. It grows several stems that can be up to about 25 centimeters (10 inches) long. These stems can spread out or stand upright. They grow from a tough, woody base called a caudex.

The whole plant is covered in many long hairs. Its leaves are small and narrow. They are all about the same size and are spaced evenly along the stem.

Its Flowers and Seeds

The plant produces one or more flower heads. These flower heads grow on long, upright stalks called peduncles. Each flower head has special leaf-like parts around it called phyllaries. These phyllaries are hairy and have tiny glands, which can make them feel a bit sticky.

Unlike many daisies, the starved daisy's flower heads only have yellow disc florets. These are the small, tube-shaped flowers you see in the center of a daisy. It does not have any ray florets, which are the flat "petals" that stick out from the center of a typical daisy.

After the flower blooms, it produces a fruit called an achene. This is a small, dry fruit that contains the seed. The achene has a fluffy top made of bristles, which is called a pappus. This pappus helps the seed float away in the wind.