Robin’s Plantain.Erigeron bellidifolius.
Found in meadows and fields, during May and June.
The stalk (from 8 to 18 inches high) is single, and sparingly leafy; grooved, and slightly hairy. Color, light green.
The long, narrow leaf, with a tapering tip, and a partly-clasping base, has a taut midrib which fulls the blade; its margin is sparsely notched (except that of the upper leaves), and the surface is slightly hairy. The color is green, with a paler midrib. The arrangement is alternate, and at long intervals.
The disc flowers are very small, and in color greenish-yellow; set in a flat-topped head, surrounded by many long rays, like a finely cut fringe, which are blue or pinkish-lavender. The cup is hemispherical, and green. The heads form a flat-topped terminal cluster.
Robin’s Plantain grows in communities among tall grasses, swaying gracefully on its long stalks as the breeze sweeps over the field. This is apparently the only one of its class that is distinguished by an attractive folk-name of its own,—all the rest are Daisy Fleabanes.