Flora of North America species comparison

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Ionactis stenomeres

Ionactis caelestis

Rocky Mountain ankle-aster, Rocky Mountain aster, Rocky Mountain ionactis

aster, Spring Mountain ankle-aster, Spring Mountain aster
Habit Plants 12–30 cm (sometimes weakly cespitose, caudices multicipital or with relatively short branches; rhizomes fibrous-rooted, thickened, becoming woody). Plants 12–25 cm (with multicipital crowns, not cespitose; taproots thick, woody).
Stems

proximally herbaceous or slightly woody, eglandular.

strongly woody proximally, glandular.
Leaves

proximal separated by evident internodes, spatulate, reduced in size distally;

mid and distal linear-lanceolate, 15–25(–30) mm, margins green, faces hispidulous.

proximal and mid separated by evident internodes;

blades oblong-ovate, 4–6 mm, distal much reduced, margins green, faces hispidulous, sessile- to stipitate-glandular.
Involucres

8–13 mm.

6.5–7 mm.
Disc florets

bisexual, fertile;

corollas 7.5–8.5 mm.

functionally staminate (with sterile ovaries);

corollas 4–4.5 mm.
Heads

borne singly.

borne singly or in loose, corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae

5–6 mm, faces sessile- to stipitate-glandular.

2.5–2.8 mm, faces eglandular.
2n

= 18.

Ionactis stenomeres

Ionactis caelestis
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Dry slopes, grassy ridges, and openings Crevices of sparsely vegetated sandstone, areas of Pinus monophylla, Pinus ponderosa and Arctostaphylos pungens
Elevation 1700–2200 m (5600–7200 ft) 2000–2100 m (6600–6900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NV
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Ionactis caelestis is known from a single population in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area of the Spring Mountains, Clark County.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 84. FNA vol. 20, p. 83.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Ionactis Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Ionactis
Sibling taxa
I. alpina, I. caelestis, I. elegans, I. linariifolia
I. alpina, I. elegans, I. linariifolia, I. stenomeres
Synonyms Aster stenomeres
Name authority (A. Gray) Greene: Pittonia 3: 246. (1897) P. J. Leary & G. L. Nesom: Brittonia 44: 247. (1992)
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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