Eurybia merita |
Eurybia spinulosa |
|
---|---|---|
arctic aster, arctic wood-aster, subalpine aster |
Apalachicola aster |
|
Habit | Plants (2–)10–50 cm, clonal and clumped, eglandular; rhizomes creeping to ascending, long or short, scaly, woody with age. | Plants 20–70 cm; solitary or clumped, eglandular; rhizomes short and stout or elongate and wiry, or caudices. |
Stems | 1–3+, usually ascending, sometimes decumbent, purplish, occasionally branched basally, sparsely villosulous, densely so distally. |
1(–3+), erect, simple, ± villous to glabrescent. |
Leaves | cauline (dark green abaxially, paler bluish green adaxially) firm, ± markedly veined, margins entire or serrulate, scabrous to strigoso-ciliate, teeth mucronate, slightly indurate, apices obtuse to acute, mucronate, abaxial faces glabrescent to sparsely villous along veins, adaxial glabrescent or sparsely (proximal) to ± densely (distal) villoso-strigose or strigose; proximalmost withering by flowering; proximal narrowly winged-petiolate or sessile, petiole bases sheathing, blades spatulate to obovate or oblanceolate, 10–43 × 2–16 mm, smaller than mid, bases attenuate to cuneate, subclasping (if sessile); mid sessile, blades lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate, narrowly obovate, or spatulate, 20–80 × 4–35 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases rounded or subauriculate to widely attenuate or cuneate; distal (arrays) sessile, lanceolate to lance-ovate or elliptic to oblanceolate, 6–52 × 1–17 mm, rapidly reduced distally, margins often slightly purplish. |
strongly basal and cauline, linear, firm, ± fleshy, margins indurate, ± revolute, entire to spinose-serrate, smooth to remotely scabridulous or ciliate, spines indurate, finely parallel-veined with evident midribs, apices acute, revolute-indurate, faces glabrescent (minute hairs bulbous at base, threadlike distally); basal and proximal cauline persistent, sessile or petiolate (narrowing between bases and blades), blades lance-linear to linear, 100–300 × (1–)2–5 mm, bases ± marcescent, sheathing, ciliate; cauline sessile, blades linear to lance-linear, 20–95 × 3–5 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases rounded- to auriculate-clasping, adaxial faces sparsely villous in distal, the distal subtending heads boat-shaped. |
Peduncles | villosulous; bracts 0–3, lanceolate to spatulate, leaflike to distally phyllary-like (bases indurate, margins purplish), mostly foliaceous. |
0 (usually) or ascending, 1–17+ mm, sparsely villosulous; bracts 0–2, ascending, lanceolate, bases not indurate, rounded (boat-shaped), margins ciliate, faces glabrous. |
Involucres | campanulate, 6–9 mm, shorter than pappi. |
campanulate, 6.5–9.7 mm, shorter than pappi. |
Ray florets | (10–)14–32; corollas purple to violet, 7–12(–15) × 1–1.7 mm. |
8–17; laminae pale purple to purplish white, 10–16(–20) × 1–1.8 mm. |
Disc florets | 30–60; corollas pale to cream-yellow, lobes pink-tinged, 5–7.6 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes equaling or slightly longer than funnelform throats, lobes erect, triangular, 0.6–1.3 mm. |
18–30; corollas yellow, 5.5–7.6 mm, barely ampliate, tubes much shorter than tubular-funnelform throats (1–2 mm), lobes erect, lanceolate, 0.65–1 mm. |
Phyllaries | 30–65 in 4–5 series, often purplish, oblong or lance-oblong (outer) to lance-linear or linear (inner), unequal, membranous, bases indurate, rounded, dark green zones diffusely diamond-shaped to lanceolate in distal 1/3–2/3 (outer, seldom foliaceous) to 1/5 or none (inner), margins ± dark purple, narrowly scarious, erose, densely villoso-ciliate, apices appressed or sometimes loose and ± squarrose, acute to obtuse, often apiculate, faces usually villous, rarely glabrous. |
20–40 in 4–5 series, green, often ± involute in distal 1/2–2/3 (outer) to 1/3 (inner), densely nerved (nerves not thickened), lanceolate, unequal, coriaceous, bases indurate, rounded (outer), margins entire, indurate (outer) or scarious and often purplish (inner), sparsely ciliate, apices acute to acuminate, indurate, apiculate, adaxial faces glabrous or sparsely villosulous. |
Heads | (1–)5–50, usually in open to compact, corymbiform arrays, rarely borne singly. |
3–16+ in spiciform to narrow, racemiform arrays. |
Cypselae | brownish, fusiform-obconic, slightly compressed, ca. 3.4 mm, ribs 8–10 (pale, strong), strigillose; pappi of cinnamon to yellowish bristles 5–6 mm, longer than disc corollas. |
brown to gray-brown, fusiform, ± compressed, 2–2.5 mm, ribs 7–10, faces ± strigillose; pappi of burnt-orange (coarse, sometimes apically clavellate) bristles 6–7.5 mm, as long as or slightly longer than disc corollas. |
2n | = 36. |
|
Eurybia merita |
Eurybia spinulosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering late summer. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | Open, mesic or dry, rocky areas and woods, clearings, burnt areas, creek banks (rocky, sandy, or gravelly), mostly at subalpine level in mountains, lower in north, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine or spruce forests, subalpine meadows | Moist to dry, acid sandy peats, savannas in long-leaf pinelands, fire-maintained |
Elevation | 100–3200 m (300–10500 ft) | 0–50 m (0–200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; MT; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; BC
|
FL |
Discussion | Eurybia merita occurs mainly from the Interior Mountains and Plateaus system to the Rocky Mountains, and is disjunct to the Black Hills of South Dakota. It reaches California in Siskyou County; the species has been overlooked in this state (e.g., G. A. Allen 1993) because of misidentification with E. radulina. S. L. Welsh et al. (1987) reported E. sibirica from the Uinta Mountains of Utah (Summit County), which A. Cronquist (1994) attributed to var. merita. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Eurybia spinulosa is known only from the Apalachicola River drainage of the Florida panhandle; it is of conservation concern in Florida and is a facultative wetland indicator. Much of its habitat has now been lost to development (R. Kral 1983, vol. 2). Kral published a map of the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 370. | FNA vol. 20, p. 381. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eurybia | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eurybia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster meritus, Aster richardsonii var. meritus, Aster sibiricus var. meritus | Aster spinulosus, Heleastrum spinulosum |
Name authority | (A. Nelson) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 260. (1995) | (Chapman) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 262. (1995) |
Web links |
|