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Easter Daisy

Townsendia exscapa (town-SEN-dee-uh eks-SKAY-puh)

Family: Asteraceae Native Herbaceous

Stemless Townsend Daisy is a short-lived perennial wildflower in the daisy family found in semidesert areas, woodlands, foothills, and open areas in central and western North America usually at higher elevations. The plants are quite short and hug the ground with their furry gray-green leaves. The flowers have many white to pinkish rays that surround the center yellow disc flowers and bloom from March to May depending on the area. It grows only 1-7 inches tall depending on rain fall and the basal leaves are often dried up by flowering time. Use in a naturalized area or rock garden in sandy well-drained soil in full sun. This plant will not do well in areas of high humidity or heavy wet soils.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 52 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Perennial; Wildflower
Life cycle
Perennial
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry | Very Dry
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate
Leaf shape
Oblanceolate; Spatulate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Linear, narrowly oblanceolate or spatulate, up to 2.5 inches long fuzzy gray-green leaves
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Stemless to nearly stemless flowers with many white to pinks rays surrounding yellow disc flowers are 1-1.5 inches across
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Achenes, flattened, less than 1/4 inch long, pubescent; pappus of ray and disk flowers rigid, finely-barbed bristles, about twice as long as achenes.
Stem color
Gray/Silver; Green
Stem detail
Harry gray-green stems if present
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Canada, western U.S.A., Mexico
Distribution
AZ , CO , ID , KS , MT , ND , NE , NM , NV , OK , SD , TX , UT , WY
Wildlife value
Attracts humming birds, bees and butterflies and other birds or small mammals looking for seeds
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Hummingbirds; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Achene

Uses (ethnobotany)

The Blackfeet used a decoction of the roots to treat tired horses.

Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area; Slope/Bank; Small Space
Landscape theme
Rock Garden
Garden tags
#hairy leaves #non-toxic for cats #non-toxic for horses #non-toxic for dogs #white flowers #spring flowers #dry soils tolerant #sandy soils tolerant
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Drought; Dry Soil

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.