WHITE LAZY DAISY OAK-LEAVED FLEABANE DAISY
White Lazy Daisy (Aphanostephus skirrobasis) grows very abundantly in sandy soil in spring and summer. It ranges from Kansas to Mexico and Florida. The morning traveller does not appreciate its beauty, for it is truly a lazy daisy, not opening its heads until nearly noon. The plants are usually branched and grow 6-18 inches high. The large, showy heads are 1-2 inches across and are usually long-stalked. Unlike those of many other daisies, the seeds are not topped by slender bristles but have an inconspicuous crown, as is denoted by the scientific name, which is Greek for “faint crown.”
Oak-Leaved Fleabane Daisy (Erigeron quercifolius) is very abundant in the spring in the East Texas woods and ranges through the Southern States. The lower leaves resemble oak leaves, but those on the stem are narrow and pointed. The numerous fleabane daisies in the state may be readily recognized by means of the many, very narrow ray flowers which are usually white, pale pink, or pale lavender. Kiss-me-and-I’ll-tell-you (Erigeron annuus) is a taller daisy and is very abundant in East Texas.
DWARF WHITE ASTER DWARF BLUE ASTER
Dwarf Blue Aster (Keerlia bellidiflora) is a shade-loving, sprawling plant growing in moist soil in Central Texas. Its small heads, less than half an inch across, have the aster habit of closing at night and opening in bright light. The outer ray flowers are bluish-lavender, and the tubular inner flowers are yellow. It blooms from late March to May.
Dwarf White Aster (Chaetopappa asteroides) is a very small and wiry plant, growing two to ten inches high and becoming much branched with age. The small narrow heads with white rays and yellow disk flowers are less than half an inch broad. The leaves are narrow, commonly broader about the middle, and about half an inch long. The scientific name refers to the bristles on the seed. It is very abundant in sandy soil throughout the state and ranges to Missouri and Mexico. It blooms from March until early summer.
ROADSIDE ASTER. BLACKWEED
Blackweed. Roadside Aster (Aster exilis) is probably the least showy of the asters but is very abundant in Texas. It ranges from Kansas to Texas and Florida. The white, daisy-like heads may be noted against the dark-green foliage in roadside ditches, or it may appear as a violet haze along the highway. Although it is considered one of the common lawn pests in the fall, yet even there it is a thing of beauty; for when the slender stems are cut, numerous branches spread out from the base, and soon the grass is studded with the tiny white or lavender heads. Keepers of bees on the coastal prairie highly prize it as the source of their most palatable honey.