Symphyotrichum ciliolatum |
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aster ciliolé, fringe blue aster, Lindley's American-aster, Lindley's aster, Lindley's or fringe blue aster |
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Habit | Perennials, (10–)20–120 cm, colonial or cespitose; usually long-rhizomatous, sometimes with branched caudices. |
Stems | 1–3+, erect (straight to ± flexuous), glabrate to sparsely hirsute or strigillose, especially distally. |
Leaves | thin, margins coarsely, sharply serrate to crenate-serrate or serrulate, ciliate to scabrous, apices acute or acuminate, mucronulate, abaxial faces glabrate to sparsely hirsute, midveins usually densely hirsute, sometimes glabrous, adaxial glabrous or glabrate to scabrellous; basal usually withering by flowering (sometimes persistent on small plants), long-petiolate (petioles slightly winged, sheathing, ciliate), blades ovate, (24–)40–120(–270) × 15–70 mm, bases usually shallowly cordate, sometimes rounded; proximal cauline often withering by flowering, winged-petiolate, blades ovate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, (24–)60–150 × (10–)20–60 mm, reduced distally, bases subcordate to cuneate; distal sessile or sometimes subsessile (petioles widely-winged), blades lance-ovate to linear-lanceolate or linear, 18–75 × (2–)5–25 mm, bases cuneate, sometimes ± clasping, margins serrulate or entire. |
Peduncles | 0.2–1.5+ cm, unequal, reduced distally, ± hirsutulous, bracts 0–4, subulate or linear. |
Involucres | campanulate, (4–)5–6.5 mm. |
Ray florets | (12–)14–20; corollas pale to deep blue or bluish purple, laminae (8.3–)10–15 × 1–2.3 mm. |
Disc florets | 14–25(–29); corollas yellow becoming reddish purple, 4.3–6.4 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.5–1.1 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 4–5 series, narrowly oblong-lanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate or linear-oblanceolate (innermost), ± unequal, bases indurate 1/3–2/3, margins narrowly scarious, erose, hyaline or infrequently purplish, sparsely ciliolate, green zones lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear, apices acuminate to long-acuminate, faces glabrous. |
Heads | [(6–)13–50(–100+)] in open, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending. |
Cypselae | yellowish white, obovoid, compressed, 1–2 mm, 5–6-nerved, faces glabrate to sparsely strigillose; pappi white to pinkish, 3–6 mm. |
2n | = 48. |
Symphyotrichum ciliolatum |
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Phenology | Flowering late Jul–Oct. |
Habitat | Rich, open, often ± calcareous, boreal deciduous forests (aspen or aspen-birch-fir-spruce), edges of woods, clearings, aspen or bur oak thickets, sometimes open pine forests, streambanks, trails, roadsides |
Elevation | 0–2000+ m (0–6600+ ft) |
Distribution |
IL; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NH; NY; SD; VT; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
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Discussion | Symphyotrichum ciliolatum sporadically hybridizes with S. laeve var. laeve or var. geyeri in their areas of overlap, notably across the Canadian prairies and in south-central Ontario (Manitoulin Island, Bruce Peninsula). It also hybridizes with S. novi-belgii var. novi-belgii in the Gulf of St. Lawrence area [Symphyotrichum ×subgeminatum (Fernald) G. L. Nesom; syn. Aster subgeminatus (Fernald) B. Boivin]. Aster ciliolatus forma comatus Fernald is densely ciliolate along the midnerves and represents an extreme of the variation found in the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 502. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Aster ciliolatus, Aster ciliolatus var. comatus, Aster lindleyanus, Aster wilsonii |
Name authority | (Lindley) Á. Löve & D. Löve: Taxon 31: 359. (1982) |
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