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eastern silver American-aster, eastern silver aster, eastern silvery aster

scaleleaf aster

Habit Perennials, 30–80 cm, cespitose; with cormoid, woody caudices. Perennials, 30–120 cm, cespitose; with herbaceous or thick, woody, sometimes cormoid caudices.
Stems

1–10+, ascending to erect (light to dark brown), glabrous or densely canescent distally.

5+, erect to scandent-sprawling (brown, branched from middle), moderately to densely finely hairy.

Leaves

(green to graysih) soft to firm;

basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades (1–3-nerved) elliptic-lanceolate, 10–43 × 5–15 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, piloso-ciliate, apices acute to obtuse, faces silvery silky-pilose to sparsely pilose;

proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 20–35 × 5–15 mm, bases rounded, subclasping, margins entire, scabrous to silky-pilose, apices acute to obtuse, cuspidate mucronate, faces ± densely silky;

distal sessile, blades usually oblong to lanceolate, rarely ovate, 9–15 × 1.8–5 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, mucronate, faces ± densely silky or sparsely strigose, sometimes glabrate (var. devestitum).

(yellowish green) thick, firm, margins entire;

basal early deciduous, sessile or subpetiolate, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate to obovate, 10–43 × 7–15 mm, bases cuneate, margins scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, faces sparsely finely scabrous;

proximal cauline sessile, blades narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 20–35 × 5–13 mm, bases auriculate-clasping, margins finely scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, faces finely scabrous, shiny;

distal sessile, blades lanceolate to linear, 3–10 × 1–4 mm, gradually reduced to bracts distally, bases subclasping and adnate to stem for 1/2+ length, apices narrowly acute, white-spinulose, faces finely scabrous, viscid, minutely stipitate-glandular.

Peduncles

densely hairy, bracts becoming linear, grading into phyllaries.

densely short-strigose, glandular, bracts linear, adnate, densely short-strigose.

Involucres

campanulate to narrowly campanulate, 5–7 mm.

campanulate, 4–6.5 mm.

Ray florets

8–12;

corollas rose-purple, rarely white, laminae 4–9 × 1–1.5 mm.

10–20;

corollas light to dark lavender, laminae 5–8 × 0.5–1.5 mm.

Disc florets

(9–)11–17(–21);

corollas pink turning purple, 4.5–6 mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats (thinly puberulent), lobes triangular, 0.4–0.7 mm.

12–25;

corollas yellow, 3.7–7 mm, throats narrowly funnelform, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.8 mm.

Phyllaries

in 3–5 series, appressed, lanceolate-oblong, strongly unequal, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins scarious proximally, green distally, green zones restricted to apex, obscured by hair, apices usually acute, sometimes acuminate, usually mucronate, sometimes subspinulose, faces ± densely silky.

in 4–5 series, oblong to oblanceolate, strongly unequal, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins hyaline, finely scabrous, green zones lenticular, in distal 1/4–2/5, apices obtuse, mucronate to finely subspinulose, faces scabrellous-puberulent, stipitate-glandular.

Heads

in narrow, paniculiform (virgate) arrays (1–3(–5) per branch).

in ± open, paniculiform arrays, branches initially patent then ascending or divaricate.

Cypselae

obovoid, not compressed, 2.5–3.5 mm, 7–10-nerved, faces densely strigose;

pappi tan, (3.5–)4–6 mm.

tan to brown, obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, 6–10-nerved (faint), faces sparsely strigose;

pappi tan, 3.75–8 mm.

2n

= 20.

Symphyotrichum concolor

Symphyotrichum adnatum

Phenology Flowering Oct–Dec.
Habitat Sandy, clayey soils, sandhills, oak-pine scrub, open pine flatwoods, roadsides
Elevation 0–100+ m (0–300+ ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; DE; FL; GA; KY; LA; MA; MD; MS; NC; NJ; NY; RI; SC; TN; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Distal cauline leaves and phyllaries moderately to densely silky; e United States
var. concolor
1. Distal cauline leaves and phyllaries glabrous or sparsely hispido-pilose; panhandle Florida
var. devestitum
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 492. FNA vol. 20, p. 491.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus
Sibling taxa
S. adnatum, S. anomalum, S. anticostense, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chapmanii, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ciliolatum, S. cordifolium, S. cusickii, S. defoliatum, S. depauperatum, S. drummondii, S. dumosum, S. elliottii, S. ericoides, S. eulae, S. falcatum, S. fendleri, S. firmum, S. foliaceum, S. fontinale, S. frondosum, S. georgianum, S. grandiflorum, S. greatae, S. hallii, S. hendersonii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. lateriflorum, S. laurentianum, S. lentum, S. molle, S. nahanniense, S. novae-angliae, S. novi-belgii, S. oblongifolium, S. ontarionis, S. oolentangiense, S. parviceps, S. patens, S. phlogifolium, S. pilosum, S. plumosum, S. porteri, S. potosinum, S. praealtum, S. pratense, S. prenanthoides, S. priceae, S. puniceum, S. pygmaeum, S. racemosum, S. retroflexum, S. rhiannon, S. robynsianum, S. sericeum, S. shortii, S. simmondsii, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum, S. subulatum, S. tenuifolium, S. tradescantii, S. turbinellum, S. undulatum, S. urophyllum, S. walteri, S. welshii, S. yukonense, S. ×amethystinum
S. anomalum, S. anticostense, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chapmanii, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ciliolatum, S. concolor, S. cordifolium, S. cusickii, S. defoliatum, S. depauperatum, S. drummondii, S. dumosum, S. elliottii, S. ericoides, S. eulae, S. falcatum, S. fendleri, S. firmum, S. foliaceum, S. fontinale, S. frondosum, S. georgianum, S. grandiflorum, S. greatae, S. hallii, S. hendersonii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. lateriflorum, S. laurentianum, S. lentum, S. molle, S. nahanniense, S. novae-angliae, S. novi-belgii, S. oblongifolium, S. ontarionis, S. oolentangiense, S. parviceps, S. patens, S. phlogifolium, S. pilosum, S. plumosum, S. porteri, S. potosinum, S. praealtum, S. pratense, S. prenanthoides, S. priceae, S. puniceum, S. pygmaeum, S. racemosum, S. retroflexum, S. rhiannon, S. robynsianum, S. sericeum, S. shortii, S. simmondsii, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum, S. subulatum, S. tenuifolium, S. tradescantii, S. turbinellum, S. undulatum, S. urophyllum, S. walteri, S. welshii, S. yukonense, S. ×amethystinum
Subordinate taxa
S. concolor var. concolor, S. concolor var. devestitum
Synonyms Aster concolor, Lasallea concolor, Virgulus concolor Aster adnatus, Lasallea adnata, Virgulus adnatus
Name authority (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 278. (1995) (Nuttall) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 275. (1995)
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