Symphyotrichum chilense
Symphyotrichum hallii
common California aster, common California or Pacific aster, Pacific aster
Hall's aster
1–5+, ascending or erect, glabrous or hirsute.
1–6, ascending to erect, glabrous or puberulent, especially distally.
thin, margins entire, apices usually acute, faces glabrous or sparsely puberulent;
basal withering by flowering, petiolate, blades (linear-)oblanceolate to obovate, 30–200 × 4–40 mm, bases attenuate, margins entire to finely serrate, apices acute;
proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, sessile, blades broadly to narrowly oblanceolate, 40–150 × 5–30 mm, bases usually ± attenuate or cuneate;
distal sessile, blades lanceolate to oblanceolate, 25–90 × 5–30 mm, bases cuneate.
thin, margins entire, apices acute, faces glabrous or scabridulous;
basal withering by flowering, petiolate, blades narrowly oblanceolate to linear, 10–60 × 2–10 mm, attenuate, margins entire;
proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, sessile, blades linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 30–80 × 2–8 mm, bases cuneate, apices acute;
distal sessile, blades linear, 10–50 × 2–8 mm, bases ± cuneate, truncate.
puberulent, bracts 3–10, lanceolate to elliptic, margins often scabrous to ciliolate.
sparsely to densely hairy, bracts 3–10, linear to narrowly elliptic, much smaller than distal leaves.
campanulate, 5–8 mm.
campanulate, 4–7 mm.
15–40;
corollas violet, laminae 9–15 × 1.5–2.5 mm.
14–35;
corollas usually white, sometimes pale violet, laminae 7–12 × 1–2 mm.
35–60+;
corollas yellow, 4–8 mm, lobes triangular, 0.5–1 mm.
20–35;
corollas yellow, 4.5–6.5 mm, lobes triangular, 0.7–1 mm, glabrous.
in 3–5 series, oblanceolate or oblong (outer) to linear (inner), unequal to subequal (outer usually shorter than inner, if so, lengths less than 3 times widths), bases scarious (outer) less than 1/2 or sometimes wholly foliaceous, inner scarious, margins eciliate or ciliolate, green zones oblanceolate to obovate or linear (innermost), apices (outer) obtuse, (inner) acute, faces glabrous or puberulent.
in 5–6 series, appressed, narrowly oblanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), unequal, bases (outer) herbaceous or scarious less than 1/2, margins entire, green zones ovate to linear (inner), apices obtuse, faces glabrous.
in open, paniculiform arrays, some branches at least 20+ cm.
in racemiforn to paniculiform arrays, branches usually less than 10(–20) cm.
brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 3.5–4.5 mm, 2–4-nerved, faces hairy;
pappi white to tawny, 4–8 mm.
brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, 2–5-nerved, faces hairy;
pappi white, 5–7 mm.
= 48, 64, 96.
= 16, 32, 48.
Symphyotrichum chilense
Symphyotrichum hallii
Symphyotrichum chilense is restricted to coastal habitats from southwestern British Columbia to central California. It is almost entirely coastal in Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia, where it is mainly hexaploid (2n = 48). In Oregon, where it is sympatric with S. subspicatum, the latter is mainly duodecaploid (2n = 96). The distinction does not hold in British Columbia, however, where S. subspicatum is both 2n = 48 and 96, and where S. chilense is less common (G. A. Allen 1984). The species was erroneously thought by Nees to occur in Chile. The plants named Aster chilensis var. medius Jepson are hybrids of S. chilense and S. lentum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Symphyotrichum hallii is restricted to open habitats of the Puget Trough of western Washington and the Willamette Valley of western Oregon, with outlying stations in the Columbia Gorge and central Washington. Some of the polyploid races appear to be alloploids involving the sympatric S. subspicatum, with larger leaves and fewer, larger heads with violet rays.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
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- Encyclopedia of Life
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