Burke: Symphyotrichum foliaceum vs. Symphyotrichum sect. Occidentales

	Symphyotrichum foliaceum	Symphyotrichum sect. Occidentales
	alpine leafybract aster, Canby's leafybract aster, Cusick's American aster, Cusick's aster, Henderson's aster, Kootenai aster, leafy aster, leafy-bracted aster, Parry's aster
Habit	Fibrous-rooted perennial from a creeping rhizome, highly variable in size, the herbage glabrous or soft-pubescent.
Leaves	Leaves entire, the lower oblanceolate to obovate, petiolate, often deciduous; other leaves lanceolate to ovate, sessile, 5-12 cm. long and 1-4 cm. wide, 3.5-7 times as long as wide.
Flowers	Heads 1-many in a flat-topped inflorescence; involucre bracts leafy, imbricate, white-margined at the base; disk flowers numerous, yellow; rays 15-60, 1-2 cm. long, pistillate, rose-purple to blue or violet; pappus of numerous capillary bristles, white or tawny.
Fruits	Fruit an achene.

	Symphyotrichum foliaceum	Symphyotrichum sect. Occidentales
Flowering time	July-September
Habitat	Open, usually moist areas, low to high elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. ×amethystinum, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ×columbianum, S. ericoides, S. frondosum, S. hallii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. novae-angliae, S. pilosum, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum
Web links	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	Google search

Symphyotrichum foliaceum

Symphyotrichum sect. Occidentales

alpine leafybract aster, Canby's leafybract aster, Cusick's American aster, Cusick's aster, Henderson's aster, Kootenai aster, leafy aster, leafy-bracted aster, Parry's aster

Habit

Fibrous-rooted perennial from a creeping rhizome, highly variable in size, the herbage glabrous or soft-pubescent.

Leaves

Leaves entire, the lower oblanceolate to obovate, petiolate, often deciduous; other leaves lanceolate to ovate, sessile, 5-12 cm. long and 1-4 cm. wide, 3.5-7 times as long as wide.

Flowers

Heads 1-many in a flat-topped inflorescence;

involucre bracts leafy, imbricate, white-margined at the base;

disk flowers numerous, yellow;

rays 15-60, 1-2 cm. long, pistillate, rose-purple to blue or violet;

pappus of numerous capillary bristles, white or tawny.

Fruits

Fruit an achene.