Purple cushion fleabane flowers - June
in the highlands along Umtanum road

Purple cushion fleabane - Erigeron poliospermus - April
in the Quilomene near Ginkgo State Park

Purple cushion fleabane flowers and leaves

Purple cushion fleabane is so named in the belief its leaves are a bane, or poison, to fleas. Its genus, Erigeron, is derived from Greek words for old man, and spring. The species has inch-long rays colored purple to pale violet, and its relatively narrow leaves are covered with short, stiff hairs. Compare to the related threadleaf daisy.