Burke: Eurybia conspicua vs. Eurybia radulina

	Eurybia conspicua	Eurybia radulina
	western showy aster	rough-leaved aster
Habit	Stout perennial from a creeping rhizome, 3-10 dm. tall, strongly glandular above.	Herbaceous perennial from well-developed rhizomes, 1-7 dm. tall, the stem and lower surface of the leaves with short hairs.
Leaves	Leaves firm, usually sharply toothed, the lowermost small, elliptic, tapering to a short petiole, soon deciduous; the other leaves ample, 6-18 cm. long and 2-8 cm. wide, sessile, ovate to elliptic.	Leaves firm, usually sharply toothed, broadly oblanceolate or broader, the largest ones, found a little above the base of the stem, up to 10 cm long and 4 cm. wide; lowest leaves strongly reduced, middle and upper leaves gradually reduced, the stem appearing leafy.
Flowers	Heads several in an open, flat-topped inflorescence; involucre 8-12 mm. high, densely glandular, its bracts well imbricate, with fairly broad, papery base, tapering to a green tip; rays 12-35, 10-15 mm. long, blue or purple; pappus of numerous capillary bristles.	Heads several in a flat-topped inflorescence; involucre imbricate in several series, the bracts green-tipped, often purple-margined; rays lavender to white, 8-12 mm. long; disk corollas yellow, 7-8 mm. long, the tube longer than the slender limb; pappus bristles of various lengths.
Fruits		Achene.

	Eurybia conspicua	Eurybia radulina
Identification notes		The large, sharply-toothed leaves are distinctive.
Flowering time	July-September	July-September
Habitat	Open woods, from foothills to middle elevations in the mountains.	Rocky outcroppings, forest edges and openings at low to middle elevations.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the northern Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; British Columbia to California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	E. integrifolia, E. merita, E. radulina, E. sibirica	E. conspicua, E. integrifolia, E. merita, E. sibirica
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Eurybia radulina

western showy aster

rough-leaved aster

Habit

Stout perennial from a creeping rhizome, 3-10 dm. tall, strongly glandular above.

Herbaceous perennial from well-developed rhizomes, 1-7 dm. tall, the stem and lower surface of the leaves with short hairs.

Leaves

Leaves firm, usually sharply toothed, the lowermost small, elliptic, tapering to a short petiole, soon deciduous; the other leaves ample, 6-18 cm. long and 2-8 cm. wide, sessile, ovate to elliptic.

Leaves firm, usually sharply toothed, broadly oblanceolate or broader, the largest ones, found a little above the base of the stem, up to 10 cm long and 4 cm. wide; lowest leaves strongly reduced, middle and upper leaves gradually reduced, the stem appearing leafy.

Flowers

Heads several in an open, flat-topped inflorescence;

involucre 8-12 mm. high, densely glandular, its bracts well imbricate, with fairly broad, papery base, tapering to a green tip;

rays 12-35, 10-15 mm. long, blue or purple;

pappus of numerous capillary bristles.

Heads several in a flat-topped inflorescence;

involucre imbricate in several series, the bracts green-tipped, often purple-margined;

rays lavender to white, 8-12 mm. long; disk corollas yellow, 7-8 mm. long, the tube longer than the slender limb;

pappus bristles of various lengths.

Fruits

Achene.

Eurybia conspicua

Eurybia radulina

Identification notes

The large, sharply-toothed leaves are distinctive.

Flowering time

July-September

Habitat

Open woods, from foothills to middle elevations in the mountains.

Rocky outcroppings, forest edges and openings at low to middle elevations.

Distribution

Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the northern Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]