Leaf
Paul Fabre, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Canadian fleabane
Erigeron canadensis L.
Also known as: Canada fleabane, Horseweed
Family: Asteraceae
20 cm to 1.5 m
Wasteland, vacant plots, cracks in pavements
Flowering: July – October
Full sun
Very hardy, to about -25°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Slender, upright pyramid-shaped silhouette, often more than a metre tall, colonising every last crevice. Canadian fleabane is an upright plant with a single stem branching profusely at the top, with tiny, inconspicuous flower heads, whereas Mexican fleabane forms low spreading clumps with clearly visible flower heads with white-pink rays.
🍃 Leaves
Numerous, narrow, alternate, densely covering the stem
🌸 Flowers
Tiny whitish flower heads in large numbers, forming a narrow pyramid
🍎 Fruits
Tiny achenes with a pappus
🪵 Bark
Upright, stiff herbaceous stem, sparsely branched
🗺️ Distribution
Native to North America, widely naturalised in Europe; very common in France on wasteland and railway lines
🐝 Value for pollinators
Small whitish flower heads with little nectar, visited by small foraging insects
✂️ Horticultural uses
Regarded as a pioneer weed of wasteland, with no ornamental use
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity
⚠️ Look-alike species
Canadian fleabane
Erigeron canadensis
Mexican fleabane
Erigeron karvinskianus
Canadian fleabane is an upright plant with a single stem branching profusely at the top, with tiny, inconspicuous flower heads, whereas Mexican fleabane forms low spreading clumps with clearly visible flower heads with white-pink rays.
🌿 Other Asteraceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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