Flora of North America species comparison

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Dieteria canescens

hoary tansyaster, hoary-aster
Habit Annuals, biennials, or short-lived perennials, (subshrubs in var. ziegleri).
Stems

, branches, and peduncles glabrous, puberulent, or canescent, sometimes also stipitate-glandular or gland-dotted.
Leaf

blades linear-lanceolate to linear or linear-oblanceolate (ovate to obovate in var. leucanthemifolia), mid 10–60 × 1.5–6(–8) mm, margins entire to irregularly dentate or serrate, faces glabrous, puberulent, or canescent, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular;

distal bases not clasping or slightly clasping (clasping in var. leucanthemifolia).
Involucres

campanulate or turbinate.
Receptacles

2.5–5 mm diam.
Ray florets

pistillate and fertile, or sterile or 0 (in var. shastensis);

laminae white, blue, or purple, 6–12 × 1–3 mm.
Disc florets

corollas 4–6(–7) mm.
Phyllaries

in 3–10 series, appressed, spreading, or reflexed, indurate bases usually glabrous, apices acute to acuminate, 1–3 mm, herbaceous, faces glabrous (indurate bases, sometimes foliaceous parts) or hairy (only foliaceous parts), sometimes stipitate-glandular.
Cypselae

glabrous or moderately appressed-hairy.

Dieteria canescens
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 10 (10 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Phyllaries usually appressed, sometimes spreading, rarely reflexed
→ 2
1. Phyllaries spreading to reflexed, rarely appressed
→ 5
2. Ray florets sterile or 0
var. shastensis
2. Ray florets pistillate and fertile
→ 3
3. Phyllaries densely appressed-hairy, usually eglandular, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular, then obscured by appressed hairs
var. ambigua
3. Phyllaries glabrous or stipitate-glandular, rarely appressed-hairy or canescent
→ 4
4. Stems stipitate-glandular, sometimes also canescent, rarely glabrous
var. aristata
4. Stems glabrous, puberulent, or canescent, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular
var. glabra
5. Involucres (9–)10–16 mm
→ 6
5. Involucres 6–10(–12) mm
→ 7
6. Subshrubs; involucres (10–)12–16 mm; phyllary apices densely stipitate-glandular
var. ziegleri
6. Biennials or short-lived perennials; involucres (9–)10–15 mm; phyllary apices densely appressed-hairy, sometimes stipitate-glandular, then obscured by hairs
var. nebraskana
7. Stems canescent, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular
→ 8
7. Stems stipitate-glandular, usually also puberulent or canescent, sometimes glabrous
→ 10
8. Stem usually 1, stiffly erect, branches widely divaricate, straight, stiff
var. incana
8. Stems 1+, usually ascending, branches loosely spreading to ascending, not widely divaricate, curved, flexible
→ 9
9. Phyllaries in 5–10 series; ray florets pistillate and fertile
var. canescens
9. Phyllaries in 3–5(–7) series; ray florets sterile or 0
var. shastensis
10. Stems canescent, usually gland-dotted; most peduncles 0 (heads sessile) or shorter than involucres
var. sessiliflora
10. Stems stipitate-glandular, also sometimes puberulent or canescent; peduncles equaling or longer than involucres
→ 11
11. Mid and distal leaf blades ovate, oblong, or obovate, lengths 1.5–4 times widths
var. leucanthemifolia
11. Mid and distal leaf blades linear-lanceolate to linear, lengths 4+ times widths
var. aristata
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 398.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Dieteria
Sibling taxa
D. asteroides, D. bigelovii
Subordinate taxa
D. canescens var. ambigua, D. canescens var. aristata, D. canescens var. canescens, D. canescens var. glabra, D. canescens var. incana, D. canescens var. leucanthemifolia, D. canescens var. nebraskana, D. canescens var. sessiliflora, D. canescens var. shastensis, D. canescens var. ziegleri
Synonyms Aster canescens, Machaeranthera canescens
Name authority (Pursh) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 300. (1840)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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