Symphyotrichum anomalum |
Symphyotrichum puniceum |
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manyray aster |
aster ponceau, purple-stem American-aster, purple-stem aster, purplestem or swamp or red-stem aster, swamp aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 20–100(–120) cm, cespitose; usually with short, stout, branched caudices, woody with age, sometimes long-rhizomatous. | Perennials (7–)100–250(–300) cm, cespitose; thickly short-rhizomatous or with stout, branched caudices, sometimes long-rhizomatous. | ||||
Stems | 1–5+, erect or ascending (straight, often stout), proximally usually ± densely hirtellous, sometimes glabrescent, distally hirsute. |
1–5+, erect (straight to distally flexuous, stout 5–11 mm diam., usually reddish purple), usually densely to sparsely hirsute or hispid, glabrescent, often proximally glabrate, sometimes glabrate. |
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Leaves | thick, firm, margins (slightly undulate) scabrous, adaxial faces glabrous or strigose, scabrous, adaxial ± sparsely hirsute to scabro-hirtellous, sometimes ± scabrous (cauline sometimes with tufts of smaller leaves in axils); basal withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles sometimes narrowly winged), blades oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 10–40 × 10–20 mm, bases deeply cordate, margins sparsely serrate to serrulate, apices usually acute, sometimes obtuse to rounded; proximal cauline usually withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles slender to ± winged), blades ovate to broadly lanceolate, 40–90 × (15–) 25–50 mm, bases shallowly cordate or rounded to attenuate, rarely truncate, margins subentire or entire (rarely serrulate), apices acute or acuminate, with short callus point; distal subpetiolate or sessile, blades ovate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 10–70 × 1–10 mm, gradually or abruptly reduced distally, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins entire, apices acute to acuminate. |
(dark green, not crowded) thin, margins remotely serrate to sometimes entire, scabrous, apices acute or acuminate to subcaudate, mucronate, abaxial faces glabrate, ± densely pilose along midveins, adaxial glabrate to scabrous; basal withering by flowering, subpetiolate to petiolate (petioles ± winged, bases dilated, sheathing), blades spatulate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, 30–10+ × 3–20+ mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins remotely crenate-serrate to denticulate or entire, apices acute or acuminate to rounded; proximal cauline withering by flowering, petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles widely winged, bases auriculate, clasping), blades lanceolate or oblanceolate to oblong, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, (55–)70–200(–220) × 10–40 mm, usually progressively lengthened to mid, bases ± attenuate to cuneate or auriculate and clasping; distal sessile, blades oblanceolate or lanceolate to oblong or elliptic-oblong (sometimes nearly panduriform), 8–160 × 1–40 mm, progressively reduced distally, strongly so and linear in arrays, bases ± strongly auriculate, clasping, margins subentire or entire. |
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Peduncles | densely bracteate, 0.3–5(–10) cm (rarely subsesssile), bracts numerous, linear, 2–6 mm, mucronulate, grading into phyllaries. |
0.2–3+ cm, ± hispid or hirsute to villous, bracts 0–3, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate to linear, distal often subtending heads. |
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Involucres | campanulate, 5–10 mm. |
campanulate, (6–)8–12(–15) mm. |
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Ray florets | 18–45; corollas usually bright lavender-blue to purple, seldom white, laminae 9–15(–18) × 1–3.2 mm. |
20–50(–60); corollas usually pale to dark blue, lavender or purple, seldom white or pink, laminae (7–)12–18(–21) × (0.9–)1.4–1.8 mm. |
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Disc florets | 33–40+; corollas cream or light yellow turning pinkish purple, (4–)4.5–5.5 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes sometimes ± spreading, triangular to lanceolate, 0.5–0.8 mm. |
30–50 (–90); corollas yellow or cream becoming pink or purple, (4.1–)5–6.5 mm, tubes shorter than cylindro-funnelform limbs, lobes triangular, 0.4–1.1 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in 4–6 series, oblong-lanceolate (outer) to oblanceolate-linear (innermost), unequal, bases indurate (appressed), margins ciliate to scabro-ciliate, green zones diamond-shaped to lanceolate, ± foliaceous distally, apices reflexed to squarrose, long-acuminate, apiculate, often purple, faces strigoso-hirtellous. |
in 4–6 series, oblanceolate-spatulate to linear, subequal, bases indurate 1/5–1/2, margins not scarious (outer) to narrowly scarious, erose, hyaline, sparsely ciliolate, green zones linear-lanceolate, outer sometimes ± foliaceous, to linear (inner), apices ± spreading at tip when foliaceous, long-acuminate to caudate, mucronate to apiculate, sometimes purplish tinged, faces glabrous or ± hispid. |
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Heads | in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches divaricate, stout, long, densely bracteate. |
in open, paniculiform (often corymbiform-looking) arrays, branches widely spreading to ascending, sparsely to moderately leafy with ± large leaves. |
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Cypselae | deep purple to purplish brown or brown with purple speckles (nerves stramineous), oblong-obovoid, compressed, (1–)2.5–3.5(–3.8) mm, 5–6-nerved, faces glabrous; pappi tawny or rose-tinged, 3.7–5.2 mm. |
purple or brown (nerves stramineous), oblanceoloid, ± falcate, compressed, (2–)2.5–3.5(–4) mm, 3–4-nerved (nerves prominent), faces glabrous or sparsely strigillose; pappi white, 3.8–6 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Symphyotrichum anomalum |
Symphyotrichum puniceum |
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Phenology | Flowering late Aug–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Dry, sandy, loamy, or clayey soils over limestone, or acid soils over chert, sandstone, or granite, rocky, open deciduous woods, thickets, dry ridges, cliffs, bluffs, occasional along streams | |||||
Elevation | 50–500 m (200–1600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AR; IL; KS; MO; OK
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AL; CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; LA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
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Discussion | A. G. Jones (1989, 1992) reported that Symphyotrichum anomalum may hybridize with S. drummondii, S. oolentangiense, and S. shortii. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Symphyotrichum puniceum is one of the widest ranging species in the genus, growing from the edges of the prairies to the Atlantic coast, and from the Gulf coast of Texas to southern Ungava Bay (northern Quebec). Several taxa have been recognized within this variable species. Here, we segregate Symphyotrichum firmum as a distinct entity. The tall, pink-rayed S. elliottii of the outer coastal plains is also distinctive, despite reports of hybrids with S. puniceum var. puniceum where their ranges overlap (see G. L. Nesom 1997b). A recently described member of the complex, S. rhiannon, is an ultramafic endemic from North Carolina. Here, within S. puniceum, we recognize two varieties, the variable and widespread var. puniceum, and var. scabricaule from the inner Gulf coastal plains, following Nesom, who also offered a useful summary of the infraspecific taxonomy of the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 504. | FNA vol. 20, p. 524. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Aster anomalus | Aster puniceus | ||||
Name authority | (Engelmann ex Torrey & A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 275. (1995) | (Linnaeus) Á. Löve & D. Löve: Taxon 31: 359. (1982) | ||||
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