Eurybia paludosa |
Eurybia spectabilis |
|
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southern swamp aster |
eastern showy aster, purple wood-aster, western showy aster |
|
Habit | Plants 20–80 cm; in clumps and clones, eglandular; rhizomes creeping, herbaceous and thin, becoming thick and woody, scaly. | Plants 10–90 cm; forming clones and clumps with rosettes, new shoots at end of rhizomes and bases of old stems; rhizomes elongate, scaly, herbaceous becoming woody. |
Stems | 1–10+, erect, often reddish, simple, straight (brittle), proximally glabrous, glabrescent, or sparsely strigillose, distally strigillose or ± villoso-hirsute (at least in arrays). |
1–3, erect or sometimes ascending, straight, often stout, sometimes glabrous or glabrescent, usually ± sparsely villous proximally and/or distally, proximally eglandular to ± short-stipitate-glandular, distally glandular from 1/2–2/3, short- and long-stipitate-glandular in arrays. |
Leaves | basal and cauline, firm, only midnerves evident, margins indurate, entire or sometimes remotely spinulose-serrate, scabrous, spines indurate, ± pronounced, apices mucronate or indurate, abaxial faces glabrous or scabrous, adaxial sparsely hirtellous, distal often more hairy; basal and proximalmost cauline withering by flowering, petioles (often marcescent, to 20 mm), bases sheathing, blades elliptic to lanceolate (basal) or linear-lanceolate, ± arcuate (proximal), 15–103 × 5–9 mm, bases cuneate, apices obtuse (basal) to acute; cauline progressively sessile (petioles more winged) and reduced, blades lanceolate or linear-lanceolate to linear, ± arcuate, 18–132+ × 2–6 mm, margins sometimes revolute, apices acute. |
basal and cauline, firm (reticulately veined), margins slightly revolute, indurate, entire or remotely crenulate-serrulate, scabrous, teeth indurate, apices acute (seldom basal obtuse), indurate, faces usually scabrous (especially abaxially), sometimes glabrous; basal and proximal cauline persistent, petioles (10–90 mm) ± narrowly winged (wings wider and shorter distally), bases sometimes marcescent, blades lanceolate or elliptic to ovate- or obovate-elliptic or spatulate, 10–160 × 3–40 mm (earlier leaves smallest), bases attenuate; mid widely winged-petiolate to subpetiolate or sessile, blades elliptic-lanceolate, ovate, or ± narrowly obovate to spatulate, oblanceolate, or lanceolate, 13–105 × (2–)5–30 mm, ± gradually reduced distally, bases attenuate or cuneate, sometimes ± clasping or sheathing (proximal); distal (arrays) sessile, oblong or narrowly ovate to linear-lanceolate or linear, 6–40 × 1–11 mm, usually abruptly reduced, becoming ± glandular. |
Peduncles | ascending, usually mostly 1–10+ cm (seldom not elongating, sometimes those of young heads appearing short or absent), thin, hirtello-puberulent to villoso-hirsute; bracts 2–5, often 1–2 subtending heads, sometimes phyllary-like (bases pale, indurate). |
sometimes sparsely villous, densely stipitate-glandular; bracts (0–)1–3, leaflike or sometimes phyllary-like (bases rounded, membranous, indurate), sometimes immediately subtending heads, densely stipitate-glandular. |
Involucres | campanulate, 9–11 mm, much shorter than pappi. |
campanulate, 7.5–14(–16) mm, ± equaling pappi. |
Ray florets | 15–35; corollas deep lavender to purple, (10–)15–20 × 1–2.3 mm. |
15–35; corollas violet-purple, 12–25 × 1.6–4 mm. |
Disc florets | 25–60; corollas yellow, 5.5–7 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes much shorter than cylindro-funnelform throats, lobes spreading, lanceolate-acuminate, 0.75–1.1 mm. |
25–55; corollas yellow, 5.5–7.6 mm, ± ampliate, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes erect, lanceolate, 0.7–1.2 mm. |
Phyllaries | 40–65+ in 4–5 series, lanceolate or oblong (outer) to linear-oblanceolate or linear (inner), unequal, membranous, bases indurate, rounded (particularly outer), green zones well defined, slightly expanded in distal 1/3–2/3 (foliaceous), reaching margins (outer wholly foliaceous, outermost are bracts subtending heads) to 1/6 or less and not reaching margins or none (inner), margins sometimes distally purplish (particularly inner), indurate, narrowly scarious, erose proximally to nearly completely so (inner), densely ciliate proximally (scarious part) to distally scabrous (foliaceous part), apices loose and often spreading, sometimes squarrose, obtuse to sometimes acute, mucronate, faces sparsely to densely strigillose. |
35–70 in 5–6 series, oblong-lanceolate to sometimes spatulate (outer) to linear-lanceolate or linear (inner), unequal, membranous or sometimes foliaceous (outer), bases indurate, rounded (outer), green zones expanded, ovate to obovate (outer, sometimes foliaceous to base) or diffusely lanceolate or none (inner), margins of membranous parts hyaline or ± purplish (inner), narrowly scarious, villoso-ciliate or long-stipitate-glandular, of foliaceous parts ± indurate, scabrous or short-stipitate-glandular, apices squarrose (outer) to ± appressed (innermost), acute to obtuse, adaxial faces long-stipitate-glandular (foliaceous parts). |
Heads | (1–)4–10+ in open, corymbiform arrays, seldom borne singly, with ascending branches. |
(1–)3–35+ usually in open, corymbiform arrays, seldom borne singly, branches ascending, stout. |
Cypselae | stramineous to tawny, cylindric to narrowly obovoid, slightly compressed, 2.3–3.6 mm, ribs 10–16, sparsely strigillose; pappi of stramineous (firm, sometimes apically clavellate) bristles 5–6.7 mm, ± equaling disc corollas. |
brown, fusiform, slightly compressed, 3–4.2 mm, ribs 12–14, faces densely strigillose; pappi of reddish-tawnish bristles 5.3–7.6 mm, ± equaling disc corollas. |
2n | = 36. |
= 72. |
Eurybia paludosa |
Eurybia spectabilis |
|
Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. | Flowering fall. |
Habitat | Moist savannas, margins of pools and swamps, low pinelands, seldom on sand hills of coastal plains, open hammocks | Mostly sandy soils, sometimes dry clay, granite outcrops, dry, oak-pine woods, pine barrens, peat bogs, borders of woods, clearings, fields, roadsides |
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) |
Distribution |
FL; GA; NC; SC
|
AL; CT; DE; GA; MA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; RI; SC; VA
|
Discussion | Eurybia paludosa is often confused with E. hemispherica, with which it is closely related. It is present on the Atlantic coastal plain from North Carolina to northeastern Florida. The two species are disjunct geographically and ecologically, even when they occur in the same states. In North Carolina, for instance, E. paludosa is coastal while E. hemispherica is found in the mountains. In northern Florida, the former is found only in Nassau County, while the latter is present only in the western panhandle. Their ranges do not overlap. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Eurybia spectabilis is of conservation concern in much of its range, notably in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. It is an eastern coastal plains species that reaches its southern limit in Alabama and Georgia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 380. | FNA vol. 20, p. 378. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eurybia | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eurybia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster paludosus, Heleastrum paludosum | Aster spectabilis, Aster commixtus, Aster spectabilis var. suffultus, Biotia commixta, E. commixta |
Name authority | (Aiton) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 261. (1995) | (Aiton) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 262. (1995) |
Web links |