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Annual or biennial of the Asteraceae family, native to North America, this fleabane has naturalized in much of Europe since the 19th century. It is now found on roadsides, wastelands, rubble, embankments, and abandoned gardens, in plains as well as in mid-mountain areas.
It forms erect and branched stems, reaching 60 to 120 cm in height, bearing lanceolate to oval leaves, slightly toothed, of a bright green. The flower heads are numerous, small, with very fine and tight ligules, white to very slightly lilac, around a bright yellow central disc. It is precisely this profusion of small, light flowers, carried in a cloud on flexible stems, that gives it its appeal in the garden.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to October. In the garden, it is one of the most generously flowering plants of the summer.
It reseeds abundantly and spontaneously, without any intervention. A few plants installed at the edge of a vegetable garden or between crops can form a light vegetal screen, useful for filtering the sun on more sensitive plants. Its potentially invasive nature deserves to be monitored, but selective pulling is enough to contain it without difficulty.