Flora of North America species comparison

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Eucephalus elegans

Eucephalus paucicapitatus

elegant aster
Eucephalus paucicapitatus

Olympic mountain-aster
Habit Perennials 30–70 cm (caudices woody; herbage scabrous). Perennials 20–55 cm (caudices woody).
Stems

erect, moderately scabrous and/or glandular.

ascending to erect, pilose or glandular-pubescent.
Leaves

mid and cauline blades linear-oblong or linear-lanceolate, 2–6 cm × 3–10 mm, faces moderately scabrous and ± short-stipitate-glandular.

mid and distal blades elliptic to elliptic-oblong, 2–4 cm × 4–13 mm, sparsely scabrous to stipitate-glandular abaxially, moderately stipitate-glandular adaxially.
Peduncles

glandular-puberulent.

stipitate-glandular.
Involucres

turbinate-cylindric, 6–9 mm.

turbinate-obconic, 7–9 mm.
Phyllaries

in 3–5 series (often purplish at margins), ovate, margins eciliate, apices acute, abaxial faces moderately to densely puberulent and glandular.

in 2–3 series (whitish), lance-linear (unequal), apices acute, abaxial faces stipitate-glandular.
Heads

3–8(–15) in racemiform to corymbiform arrays.

usually 2–4 in racemiform to corymbiform arrays, somtimes borne singly.
Cypselae

strigose;

pappus bristles in 2 series, barbellate.

obconic, pilose;

pappus bristles in 2 series, ± barbellate.
Rays

usually 5 or 8, purple.

7–13(–21), white.
2n

= 18.

Eucephalus elegans

Eucephalus paucicapitatus
Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Open meadows, aspen forests, rocky open slopes Open subalpine meadows or scree slopes
Elevation 1100–3200 m (3600–10500 ft) 800–3300 m (2600–10800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eucephalus paucicapitatus is found on Vancouver Island, where it is very uncommon, and the Olympic Peninsula. It is closely related to E. gormanii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 40. FNA vol. 20, p. 42.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eucephalus Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eucephalus
Sibling taxa
E. breweri, E. engelmannii, E. glabratus, E. glaucescens, E. gormanii, E. ledophyllus, E. paucicapitatus, E. tomentellus, E. vialis
E. breweri, E. elegans, E. engelmannii, E. glabratus, E. glaucescens, E. gormanii, E. ledophyllus, E. tomentellus, E. vialis
Synonyms Aster perelegans, E. perelegans Aster engelmannii var. paucicapitatus, Aster paucicapitatus
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 298. (1840) (B. L. Robinson) Greene: Pittonia 3: 56. (1896)
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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