Panarctic Flora

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860702-03 The Erigeron pallens aggregate E. denalii, E. purpuratus

Geography: American Beringian - Cordilleran.

Notes: Murray and Elven: The name Erigeron pallens Cronquist has often been applied to the northern plants but belongs to a more southern Cordilleran species (see Excluded taxa). A report of 2n = 18 (2x) from Alberta (Packer and Whitkus 1982, for E. purpuratus subsp. pallens) belongs to the true E. pallens.

Erigeron denalii differs consistently from E. purpuratus; see the treatment of the group by Nesom and Murray (2005). The two are generally sympatric in Alaska and the Yukon Territory but are rarely found together in sites because they differ in ecological preferences. Erigeron purpuratus is mostly a plant of river gravel bars and ruderal sites, whereas E. denalii mostly occurs in screes and alpine fellfields.

Higher Taxa