Fleabane - Mid-summer, between Madison Lake & Elysian in the meadow area

Fleabane is a tiny little delicate flower. The flower itself is about the diameter of a penny. It reminds me of a miniature daisy, although I do not think it is from the daisy family. This flower has mostly white petals, I have seen Fleabane with pinkish and almost purple petals in the wild. You will see a stalk of it with many flowers on it, then later on see another plant. It does not tend to grow in "fields" of plants like Crown Vetch or Clover. I have not observed what animals or insects feed on it, I suppose that is an observation project for this next season.

You will find Fleabane on many parts of the trail, a place that specifically comes to mind is a stretch of straight trail, about a mile or so leaving the bridge area of Eagle Lake on the way to Madison Lake. This stretch contains several different flowers that seem to be concentrated there like St John's Wort and and Woodland Sunflowers also. This area seem to me to be a "Yellow and White" flower area. It's very pretty on a lazy summer afternoon, with a little breeze to stir up the dust.

Click here for a rather complex Wikipedia article on the Fleabane Family