Flora of North America species comparison

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Sericocarpus rigidus

Columbian white-top aster, rigid white-top aster, white-top aster
Habit Plants 19–37 cm.
Stems

erect, puberulent.
Leaves

basal and proximalmost cauline withering by flowering;

cauline sessile;

blades obovate, 10–60 × 3–9 mm, margins entire, apices acute, distal acuminate, faces puberulent.
Peduncle

bracts ovate, puberulent.
Involucres

6–9 mm.
Ovaries

fusiform-obconic, 1–2 mm, strigose;

pappi: inner series 6–7 mm.
Ray florets

1–2;

corolla tubes 2–4 mm, laminae 2–3 mm.
Disc florets

9–17;

corolla tubes 4–6 mm, lobes 0.6–1 mm.
Phyllaries

in 3–4 series, outer 3–5 mm, mid 5–7 mm, puberulent.
Heads

2–3 per branch, in compact corymbiform arrays.

Sericocarpus rigidus
Phenology Flowering mid summer–early fall.
Habitat Prairie habitats, dry pastures, dry grassy Garry oak forests with rocky outcrops
Elevation 10–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Sericocarpus rigidus grows on the southern part of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and in scattered locations to the south end of the Puget Sound area in Washington. It is rare throughout its range and is listed as threatened in Canada, as Species of Concern by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as Sensitive in Washington, and as Threatened in Oregon. It is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 104.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Sericocarpus
Sibling taxa
S. asteroides, S. linifolius, S. oregonensis, S. tortifolius
Synonyms Aster curtus
Name authority Lindley: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor. Amer. 2: 14. (1834)
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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