Burke: Symphyotrichum ericoides vs. Symphyotrichum frondosum

	Symphyotrichum ericoides	Symphyotrichum frondosum
	heath-leaved aster, tufted white prairie aster	alkali aster, short rayed aster, short-rayed alkali aster
Habit	Fibrous-rooted perennial from a crown or rhizomes, the stems clustered, 3-20 dm. tall; herbage rough with usually spreading hairs.	Glabrous, branching annual, the stem 0.5-14 dm. tall.
Leaves	Leaves opposite, numerous, firm, linear, often spine-tipped, up to 7 cm. long and 5 mm. wide.	Leaves alternate, linear and sessile to oblanceolate and short-petiolate, the blade up to 6 cm. long and 1 cm. wide.
Flowers	Heads numerous, small, the disk only 4-8 mm. wide, somewhat one-sided on the ascending branches; involucre 4-6 mm. high, its bracts imbricate, the outer with green tips, obtuse or rounded, spine-tipped; rays white, 15-25, 3-8 mm. long.	Heads several in a paniculate inflorescence; involucre 5-9 mm. high, its bracts herbaceous, somewhat imbricate; pistillate ray flowers more numerous than the disk flowers, the rays pinkish, about 2 mm. long, erect and narrow, longer than the style, barely surpassing the disk flowers; capillary pappus soft and copious, longer than the disk flowers.
Fruits	Achene	Achene

	Symphyotrichum ericoides	Symphyotrichum frondosum
Flowering time	July-September	August-October
Habitat	Open, wet or dry places in the valleys and plains; tolerant of alkali.	Moist, usually saline soil, often along the shores of lakes and ponds, or in vernally moist, alkaline bottoms.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, and further east across Canada and most of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	British Columbia to California, esat to Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. ×amethystinum, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ×columbianum, S. foliaceum, S. frondosum, S. hallii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. novae-angliae, S. pilosum, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum	S. ×amethystinum, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ×columbianum, S. ericoides, S. foliaceum, S. hallii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. novae-angliae, S. pilosum, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum
Subordinate taxa	S. ericoides var. pansum
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

Symphyotrichum frondosum

heath-leaved aster, tufted white prairie aster

alkali aster, short rayed aster, short-rayed alkali aster

Habit

Fibrous-rooted perennial from a crown or rhizomes, the stems clustered, 3-20 dm. tall; herbage rough with usually spreading hairs.

Glabrous, branching annual, the stem 0.5-14 dm. tall.

Leaves

Leaves opposite, numerous, firm, linear, often spine-tipped, up to 7 cm. long and 5 mm. wide.

Leaves alternate, linear and sessile to oblanceolate and short-petiolate, the blade up to 6 cm. long and 1 cm. wide.

Flowers

Heads numerous, small, the disk only 4-8 mm. wide, somewhat one-sided on the ascending branches;

involucre 4-6 mm. high, its bracts imbricate, the outer with green tips, obtuse or rounded, spine-tipped;

rays white, 15-25, 3-8 mm. long.

Heads several in a paniculate inflorescence;

involucre 5-9 mm. high, its bracts herbaceous, somewhat imbricate; pistillate ray flowers more numerous than the disk flowers, the rays pinkish, about 2 mm. long, erect and narrow, longer than the style, barely surpassing the disk flowers; capillary pappus soft and copious, longer than the disk flowers.

Fruits

Achene

Symphyotrichum ericoides

Symphyotrichum frondosum

Flowering time

July-September

August-October

Habitat

Open, wet or dry places in the valleys and plains; tolerant of alkali.

Moist, usually saline soil, often along the shores of lakes and ponds, or in vernally moist, alkaline bottoms.

Distribution

Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, and further east across Canada and most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]