Erigeron scopulinus (Rock Fleabane)

Photograph by Tim Waters at www.flickr.com/photos/tim-waters (2010)

Family

ASTERACEAE

Scientific Name with Author

Erigeron scopulinus Nesom & Roth

Synonyms

NONE

Common Name

Rock Fleabane

Agency Status
USFWS	State of NM	USFS	BLM	Navajo Nation	State Rank	Global Rank	R-E-D Code	NMRPTC Status	Strategy Status
					S3?	G3?	1-1-2	R	SS

Rare Plant Conservation Scorecard Summary
Overall Conservation Status	Documented Threats	Actions Needed
EFFECTIVELY CONSERVED	Mining and quarrying	Status surveys on abundance, distribution and threats. Study fire impacts

To download the Scorecard click here.

Counties

Description

Perennial, mat-forming herb with fibrous root system and slender rhizomes up to 15 cm long; leaves clustered at tips of rhizomes, 5-12 mm long, 1.0-3.5 mm wide, spatulate or obovate, broadest above the middle, tapering toward the petiole, margins entire, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; flower heads solitary on bare stems, 6-33 mm tall; involucral bracts overlapping in 3-4 series, lance-shaped, narrowly pointed at the tip, 4-5 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; ray flowers 12-20, white, drying white to light violet, 5.5-9.0 mm long; achenes sparsely appressed-pubescent; pappus of barbellate bristles. Flowers May and June.

Similar Species

The rhizomatous mat-forming habit, low stature, and cliff habitats distinguish this species from other Erigeron species in southwestern New Mexico.

Distribution

New Mexico, southern Catron, northwestern Sierra, western Socorro counties, Black Range, Mogollon and San Mateo mountains; adjacent Arizona, Chiricahua Mountains.

Habitat

Crevices in cliff faces of rhyolitic rock in lower montane coniferous forest; 1,800-2,800 m (6,000-9,000 ft).

Remarks

Populations of this species are sporadic and disjunct, but can be locally very abundant.

Conservation Considerations

The cliff face habitats in often remote areas effectively remove this rare plant from potential impacts of most land uses. Minerals exploration and development could impact some populations.

Important Literature

*New Mexico Native Plants Protection Advisory Committee. 1984. A handbook of rare and endemic plants of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

*Nesom, G.L. and V.D. Roth. 1982. Erigeron scopulinus (Compositae), an endemic from the southwestern United States. Journal of Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 16:39-42.

Information Compiled By

Robert Sivinski 1999

For distribution maps and more information, visit Natural Heritage New Mexico