Get started identifying small-flowered fleabanes a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners.
So far, this fledgling series of botanical cribs has focused on plants commonly encountered in urban areas. In Dead-nettles and Ragworts, we have some of our most conspicuous native plants, but what about some of our lesser-known species? Having discovered several species of fleabane close to home in Newcastle this year, I thought it was high time they enjoyed a moment in the sun.
Now, when you think of fleabanes, you might picture the lovely round blooms of Common Fleabane or the daisy-like flowers of Mexican Fleabane. You’d be right to, of course, but what many may not know is that there is a whole other contingent of these plants out there to be discovered. I am of course talking about the small-flowered fleabanes – a group of largely non-naive species which readily adapt to urban habitats.
Identifying Fleabanes
With their diminutive flowers and a tendency to grow in a whole host of grotty places, small-flowered fleabanes are not the most glamourous bunch. That said, they are interesting. Largely because several of them are currently in the process of spreading like wildfire in the UK. In this crib, we’ll look at:
- Canadian Fleabane
- Bilbao’s Fleabane
- Guernsey Fleabane
- Blue Fleabane
- Argentine Fleabane
- Ploughman’s Spikenard
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