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Erigeron melanocephalus
Erigeron melanocephalus in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Erigeron
Species:	E. melanocephalus
Binomial name
Erigeron melanocephalus (A.Nelson) A.Nelson
Synonyms
Erigeron uniflorus var. melanocephalus A.Nelson

Erigeron melanocephalus is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name black-headed fleabane. It is found in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, in the states of Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

Erigeron melanocephalus is a perennial herb up to 21 centimeters (8.4 inches) tall, spreading by means of underground rhizomes. The leaves are mostly crowded around the base of the stem. The plant generally produces only 1 flower heads per stem, each head with black hairs covering the phyllaries (bracts) covering the base of the head (hence the name black-headed fleabane). Each head also has up to 74 white or purple ray florets surrounding numerous yellow disc florets.

References

1. The Plant List, Erigeron melanocephalus (A.Nelson) A.Nelson
2. ^ Flora of North America, Erigeron melanocephalus (A. Nelson) A. Nelson, 1899. Black-head fleabane
3. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
4. Nelson, Aven 1899. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 26(5): 246-247

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• NatureServe apparently secure species
• Erigeron
• Flora of the Rocky Mountains
• Flora of Wyoming
• Flora of Colorado
• Flora of New Mexico
• Flora of Utah
• Plants described in 1896
• Taxa named by Aven Nelson
• Erigeron stubs