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Cusick's American aster, Cusick's aster

aster de nouvelle-angleterre, New England American-aster, New England aster, New England or michaelmas daisy

Habit Perennials, 40–100 cm, colonial or cespitose; long-rhizomatous. Perennials, 30–120 cm, cespitose; with thick, woody, branched caudices, or short, fleshy rhizomes, sometimes with woody cormoid portions.
Stems

1–5+, ascending to erect, glabrous or puberulent.

1–5+, erect (stout, light to dark brown, sometimes purplish distally), proximally sparsely to moderately hispiduloso-hirsute or pilose, distally moderately to densely so, stipitate-glandular.

Leaves

thin, margins entire, apices acute, faces glabrous or puberulent;

basal often withering by flowering, petiolate, blades broadly elliptic to obovate, 5–200 × 10–35 mm, attenuate or cuneate, margins entire, apices acute;

proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate to obovate, 70–120 × 15–50 mm, bases strongly clasping, enlarged and usually narrowed distally, usually prominently auriculate, margins entire, apices acute;

distal sessile, blades lanceolate to broadly elliptic, 30–110 × 10–30 mm, bases truncate or auriculate, margins entire.

(light to dark green) thin, often stiff, margins entire or sometimes with shallow teeth, ciliate;

basal withered or withering by flowering, sessile, blades (3-nerved) usually spatulate, sometimes oblanceolate, 20–60 × 5–15 mm, bases attenuate, apices acute, faces sparsely hirsute;

proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblong or lanceolate, 50–100 × 5–15(–20) mm, bases auriculate-clasping, margins entire, pustulate-scabrous, apices acute, mucronulate, faces stipitate-glandular, abaxial thinly strigose, adaxial hirsute or hispidulous;

distal sessile, blades oblanceolate, 30–80 × 6–15 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases auriculate-clasping, apices acute to obtuse, mucronate to minutely white-spinulose, faces moderately to densely short-soft-hairy, sparsely to moderately stipitate-glandular.

Peduncles

sparsely to densely cinereous, bracts lanceolate.

dilated distally, 0.3–4 cm, densely short-hairy, stipitate-glandular, bracts 1–4, foliaceous, linear to narrowly lanceolate, densely short-hairy, stipitate-glandular, grading into phyllaries.

Involucres

campanulate, 10–20 mm.

campanulate to hemispheric, (5–)7–9(–15) mm.

Ray florets

25–55;

corollas violet, laminae 10–18 × 1–2 mm.

(40–)50–75(-100);

corollas dark rose to deep purple (pale pink or white), laminae 9–13 × 0.8–1.3 mm.

Disc florets

60–150+;

corollas yellow, 2.5–4 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.5 mm.

50–110;

corollas light yellow becoming purple, (4–)4.5–5.5(–7) mm, tubes ± 1/2 narrowly funnelform throats (glabrous or thinly puberulent), lobes triangular, 0.4–0.7 mm.

Phyllaries

in 4–5 series, broadly to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), ± equal or outer slightly exceeding inner, bases outer foliaceous, inner scarious, margins scarious, entire or erose, green zones elliptic to lanceolate, apices acute, faces glabrous or finely hairy.

in 3–5(–6) series (dark green to purple-tinged), linear-lanceolate, subequal, outer foliaceous, mid and inner scarious in basal 1/3–1/2, margins stipitate-glandular, apices long-acuminate to acuminate, spreading to reflexed or squarrose, faces glabrous, outer densely stipitate-glandular.

Heads

borne singly or in often congested, paniculiform arrays, branches 20–30 cm.

in leafy, often crowded, paniculo-corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 3–3.5 mm, 3–6-nerved, faces hairy;

pappi white, 5–9(–11) mm.

dull purple or brown, oblong or obconic, not compressed, 1.8–2.5(–3) × 0.6–1 mm, 7–10-nerved, faces densely sericeous, sparsely stipitate-glandular;

pappi tawny (barb tips sometimes rose-tinged), 4.5–6 mm.

2n

= 16, 32.

= 10.

Symphyotrichum cusickii

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering Aug–Oct(–Nov).
Habitat Damp meadows in dry forests, often near springs and streams Open, moist to wet, sandy or loamy, rich soils, fields, prairies, meadows, marshy grounds, shrubby swamps, fens, shores, thickets, moist edges of woods, roadsides, railroad rights-of-way, somewhat weedy
Elevation 1000–1500 m (3300–4900 ft) 0–1600 m (0–5200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA; AB
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VA; WA; WI; WV; WY; MB; NB; NS; ON; QC [Introduced in Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Symphyotrichum cusickii occurs principally in north-eastern Oregon, north-central Idaho, and adjacent western Montana.

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

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae is escaped from cultivation and introduced in Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and has been reported as an ephemeral escape in British Columbia. It possibly escaped from cultivation elsewhere. The Michaelmas daisy is widely sold in the horticultural trade, where cultivars have been developed. Forms have been described that correspond to color genetic variants within natural populations {Aster novae-angliae forma roseus (Desfontaines) Britton; A. novae-angliae forma geneseensis House}; they are not recognized here.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae resembles Canadanthus modestus, but the ranges of the two do not overlap, and the latter has sparsely hairy cypselae with dark ribs. Symphyotrichum novae-angliae hybridizes with S. ericoides, forming the F1 intersectional hybrid S. ×amethystinum.

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

Source FNA vol. 20, p. 532. FNA vol. 20, p. 487.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Occidentales 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. concolor, S. cordifolium, 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. adnatum, 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. 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
Synonyms Aster cusickii, Aster foliaceus var. cusickii Aster novae-angliae, Virgulus novae-angliae
Name authority (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 278. (1995) (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 287. (1995)
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