Eurybia hemispherica
Eurybia surculosa
single-stem bog or southern prairie aster, southern prairie aster
creeping aster
1–4, erect or ascending, often reddish, simple, straight to stict, proximally glabrous, distally ± sparsely strigillose (at least arrays).
1–3+, erect, simple, straight, proximally sparsely strigillose to glabrescent, distally strigose or villoso- or hirsuto-strigose.
basal and cauline, blades with adaxial midvnerves raised (grooved abaxially), sometimes with 1–2 ± parallel pairs of more obscure secondary nerves (veins obscure), lance-ovate or linear-lanceolate to linear, coriaceous, margins usually entire, sometimes remotely spinulose-toothed, often revolute apically, indurate, scabrous, apices acute, acuminate or obtuse, indurate, abaxial faces glabrous or glabrate, adaxial sparsely scabridulous (hairs minuscule, basal “bulb” bearing terminal seta);
basal withering by flowering, petioles marcescent, ± winged;
proximal petiole bases sheathing, blades 50–175 × 3–12 mm, bases attenuate or cuneate;
cauline progressively sessile and reduced distally, 25–125(–150) × 1.5–8 mm, bases clasping to subclasping.
basal and cauline, firm (only midnerves conspicuous), margins slightly revolute, slightly indurate, entire or sometimes remotely crenulate-serrulate, scabrous, teeth indurate, apices acute to obtuse, indurate, often mucronate, abaxial faces scabrous, adaxial sparsely strigose or glabrous;
basal and proximal cauline usually persistent, sometimes withering by flowering (bases often marcescent), petioles sometimes narrowly winged, bases sheathing, blades narrowly elliptic, narrowly ovate, or lanceolate to spatulate, narrowly obovate, or oblanceolate, 13–135 × (2–)6–35 mm (earliest smaller), bases attenuate to cuneate;
mid short-winged-petiolate or sessile, blades lance-oblong, lance-elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 22–105 × 3–14 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases slightly auriculate-clasping to cuneate or attenuate;
distal (arrays) sessile, blades lanceolate to linear, 7–42 × 1–6 mm, abruptly reduced.
2–80 mm or subsessile;
bracts 0–4, linear-lanceolate, 10–35 × 0.5–2 mm, mucronulate, grading into phyllaries.
densely strigose or strigoso-hispid, sometimes sparsely long-stipitate-glandular distally;
bracts (0–)1–3(–6), leaflike to phyllary-like (bases indurate), scabrous or sparsely strigose.
hemispheric, 8–12(–15) mm, shorter than pappi.
cylindro-campanulate, 7–11(–13) mm, shorter than pappi.
15–30;
corollas usually violet-purple, seldom white, (10–)13–15(–20) × 1.3–3 mm.
13–30;
corollas bluish violet, (8–)11.5–15.5 × 1.5–2.3 mm.
(40–)52–80+;
corollas light yellow turning brown, 5.8–6.6 mm, ± ampliate, tubes (1.7–2.2 mm) shorter than narrowly campanulate throats (3.4–4 mm), lobes erect, lanceolate and cuspidate or acuminate, 0.7–1.2 mm.
25–40;
corollas pale yellow turning purplish, 5–7.2 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes erect, deltate to triangular, 0.75–1.1 mm.
48–64 in 4–6 series, oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate (outer) to oblong or lanceolate-linear (inner), unequal, coriaceous (outer) to membranous (inner), bases indurate, rounded (outer), green zones slightly expanded, in 1/2–4/5 distal portions (outer), margins indurate, scabrous or scabroso-ciliate, edges and apices purplish in inner, apices ascending or squarrose to strongly reflexed, acute to acuminate, mucronulate, faces glabrous.
35–65 in 4–5 series, oblong (outer) to linear-oblong or seldom linear (inner), strongly unequal, membranous, bases indurate, rounded (outer), dark green zones foliaceous, sometimes slightly dilated, in distal 1/3–1/2 (outer) to 1/8–1/7 or none and not reaching margins (inner), margins hyaline or sometimes purplish, narrowly scarious, erose, ciliate (scarious parts), ± scabrous (foliaceous parts), sometimes short-stipitate-glandular (innermost), apices spreading to squarrose, obtuse, often dilated (innermost), mucronulate (outer) or apiculate (inner), abaxial faces glabrous or strigillose, both scabrellous on foliaceous parts.
1–35+ in elongate, usually racemiform to spiciform, sometimes ± flat-topped, corymbiform arrays, branches robust, ascending.
(1–)3–50(–122+), usually in open or dense, corymbiform arrays, seldom borne singly.
brown, cylindro-obovoid to fusiform, slightly flattened, 2.6–3.7 mm, ribs 9–16 (stramineous to olive, crowded), faces ± densely strigillose;
pappi of tawny to cinnamom (coarse, rigid, sometimes apically clavellate) bristles 6–7.5 mm, equaling disc corollas.
brown, cylindro-obconic, slightly compressed, 3.2–3.5 mm, ribs 8–10, stramineous, strigillose;
pappi of tawny-yellowish to pinkish bristles 5.2–7.1 mm, ± equaling disc corollas.
= 18, 36.
= 36.
Eurybia hemispherica
Eurybia surculosa
Eurybia hemispherica is of conservation concern in Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky. A. Cronquist (1980) stated that this species and E. paludosa are difficult to separate but geographically distinct (see under 21. E. paludosa). The two species are often treated as infraspecific taxa of E. paludosa. Eurybia hemispherica is diploid and tetraploid, while E. paludosa has been reported only as a tetraploid. There is great morphologic variation in E. hemispherica, from slender individuals, reminiscent of E. paludosa, to very robust, distinctive plants. Arrays in E. hemispherica are usually racemiform; well-developed ones may be distally corymbiform and resemble the arrays of E. paludosa, although the proximal part remains somewhat racemiform (i.e., proximal heads borne on short, simple branches, or tufts of leaves are present). Phyllaries in E. hemispherica may be superficially similar to those of E. paludosa, but often the outer phyllaries are similar to peduncular bracts (and in fact may have been recruited from such), being more triangular, coriaceous, and parallel-veined, a feature never encoutered in E. paludosa; such phyllaries strongly resemble those of E. eryngiifolia. Other characters may help distinguish the two species. Eurybia paludosa usually has thin peduncles, hirtello-puberulent to villoso-hirsute peduncles and phyllaries, and ciliate phyllary margins along the indurate bases. In E. hemispherica, the pedicels are thin to usually robust, when present, the phyllaries are glabrous to sparsely strigillose, and the phyllary margins along the indurate bases are scabrous or scabroso-ciliate, not long-ciliate.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Eurybia surculosa is of conservation concern in Virginia and Alabama. It is often confused with E. compacta, its close relative from the coastal plains. In states where both are present, it is found only inland in the southern Appalachian Mountains and not on the coastal plains; its larger heads help to differentiate it from E. compacta.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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