Erigerons have yellow disk flowers and numerous, narrow ray flowers that are white, pink, or purple (but not yellow).

     Linnaeus named this genus in 1753.  The genus name is from the Greek "eri" ("early") + "geron" ("old man", as in "geriatrics"), perhaps referring to characteristics of some now unknown plant or perhaps to the early flowering of many species and to the bristly pappus of the developing seed or to the puffy, grizzled appearance of the mature seed head.

Montane, subalpine.  Meadows.  Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 14, 2006, La Plata Canyon, July 18, 2006, and Winter Trail, July 10, 2009.

Erigeron peregrinus, found in middle and high mountain meadows and open forests, has flowers that range from very light lavender (almost white sometimes) to deeper lavender or pink/purple.  As is true for many flowers, the petal color, length, and width of Erigeron peregrinus flowers and flower parts depend on the maturity of the flower.  The picture below of two flowers on the same plant shows how much ray flower length, width, and color depend on the age of the flower.

E. peregrinus is most quickly distinguished from other Erigerons by its 2-3 millimeter wide ray flowers, twice as wide as those of other Erigerons   --  as observed in mature flowers.  E. peregrinus possesses another unusual characteristic: it spreads from underground roots and sends up hundreds of basal rosettes of leaves close to each other in meadows and open woods.  These rosettes might be confused with those of Oreochrysum parryi.  Just a few of the rosettes of these two plants send up flowering stems.    

Montane, subalpine.  Meadows.  Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 14, 2006.

Phyllaries also help distinguish this species; their tips are red-tinged (to varying degrees) and they have short, fine, red-tipped glandular (sticky) hairs (the tiny dots edging the phyllaries in the close-up photograph at left).  Stems below the phyllaries have numerous, fine, long, white hairs.

"Peregrinus" means "wandering".  D. Nelson collected this plant in the early 1800s, it was named Aster peregrinus by Frederick Pursh in 1814, and Greene renamed it Erigeron peregrinus in 1897.