Montane.  Meadows.  Summer.
Prairie Dog Knoll, Abajo Mountains, Utah, August 17, 2009.

Erigeron abajoensis is a rare plant known from only eight counties in the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, and Arizona.

E. abajoensis grows from two to fourteen inches tall with stems that often recline and then ascend (as shown in the photographs on this page) or with stems that are sometimes erect.  The plant grows with tight, mounded clusters of basal leaves and where you find one cluster, you will often find many.

Stanley Welsh, Utah plant authority, indicates that E. abajoensis is closely allied to E. caespitosus, E. nauseosus, and E. jonesii and can be difficult to separate from these.   

Rydberg and Garrett found the plant in 1911 but for some reason it was not named and described until 1947 by Arthur Cronquist.

Erigeron abajoensis (Abajo Daisy)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Montane.  Meadows.  Summer.
Prairie Dog Knoll, Abajo Mountains, Utah, August 17, 2009.

Ray flowers are short, varying from about 3-8 millimeters. Rays in the photographed flower heads are about 5 millimeters long.   Phyllaries are equal, or nearly equal in length, thickened in the middle, and often green with tan margins and reddish tips.  Hairs on the phyllaries are white and multicellular.  Hairs throughout the plant, but especially on and just below the phyllaries, are often crinkled or bent backward at their tip.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Erigeron abajoensis