Asteraceae

Machaeranthera canescens

Hoary Aster

Spreading to erect. Stems, leaves with dense, fine, grayish white hairs, glands. Stems several from base, branched, bushy. Leaves narrow, linear, slightly or finely toothed, upper leaves sometimes clasping. Flower head has cups of 2–3 rows of sharply pointed bracts, blue or purple ray flowers, many yellow disk flowers. Common in many habitats at low to mid elevations. Subsp. canescens var. shastensis, in mountains of southern Oregon, northern California, has no ray flowers. Subsp. canescens var. canescens, in dry shrublands of eastern Oregon, has mostly entire leaves. Subsp. canescens var. incana is less than 24 in., usually with single, stiff, erect stem and many branches; found in much of eastern Pacific Northwest in dry soils and along streams.

• Rarity: Common
• Flowering Time: Late Summer
• Life Cycle: Annual, Biennial, Perennial
• Height: 1--4 feet
• Habitat: Meadow, Disturbed, Shrub-Steppe, East-Side Forest
• Found In: East Gorge, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes