| Pulicaria dysenterica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Pulicaria |
| Species: | P. dysenterica |
| Binomial name | |
| Pulicaria dysenterica | |
Pulicaria dysenterica, the common fleabane, [1] or, in North America, meadow false fleabane, [2] is a species of fleabane in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia where it grows in a variety of habitats ranging from semi-arid Mediterranean woodlands to wetter situations. [3] Pulicaria dysenterica is perennial and can form dense clusters of plants, spreading by its roots. It flowers at its maximum height of about 60 centimetres (2.0 ft). [4] Leaves are alternately arranged and clasp the stem, which itself contains a salty-astringent liquid. The yellow inflorescences are typically composed of a prominent centre of 40–100 disc florets surrounded by 20–30 narrow, pistillate ray florets. When setting seed the flower heads reflex. [5]
Common fleabane is the main food plant for the fleabane tortoise beetle ( Cassida murraea ), [6] and for four micromoths, Apodia bifractella , [7] Ptocheuusa paupella , [8] dusky plume ( Oidaematophorus lithodactyla ) [9] and Digitivalva pulicariae . [10]
Fleabane's common name comes from its former use as an incense to drive away insects. [5] Other past uses include treatments for dysentery and unspecified ocular maladies. [3]
