Wildflower Identification: Fleabane

I recently noted these small white and yellow flowers growing alongside the lilies, and abundant along the ditch. They had the appearance of a daisy with the white petals and the yellow interior; but they also had the petals more of an aster, being narrow and long. Yes, my wife tells me I know entirely too much about flowers.

So, I start the search using a wildflower guide. For Kansas I've become fond of this site, among others, that you can narrow by color or bloom time and has thumbnail images: http://www.kswildflower.org/byColor.php

From there you can begin looking at the thumbnail photos and open the links to thise that look similar to the flower in question. Luckily, there is one that looks very similar right up at the top, Annual Fleabane. You can read more details, and look at the other images provided to ensure that your identification is correct. In this case, it is most likely correct although there are similar species like Daisy Fleabane. Fleabane is a native plant, but is typically found in rough or disturbed ground areas. Thankfully it is an annual so if I get some groundwork done this plant won't be as prevalent next year, and instead they'll be more grass. A few more photos of Fleabane are below:

 

Oh, and a final fun fact, the name Fleabane came about from the initial identifiers believing the plant repelled fleas! As it turns out though, it's not true.