Symphyotrichum depauperatum |
Symphyotrichum urophyllum |
|
---|---|---|
serpentine aster, starved aster |
arrow-leaf American-aster, white arrowleaf aster, white arrowleaf or arrowleaf aster |
|
Habit | Perennials, 20–50 cm, colonial or cespitose; branched rhizomatous. | Perennials, 40–120(–200) cm, cespitose; short-rhizomatous or with stout, branched caudices. |
Stems | 1–3+, erect (straight, brittle), glabrate. |
1–5+, erect (straight to slightly flexuous, brittle, sometimes stout), proximally glabrous or glabrate, distally sparsely pilose. |
Leaves | thin, margins ciliate, abaxial faces glabrous or glabrate, adaxial sparsely strigose; basal withering by flowering (new rosettes developing at flowering), sessile, blades lanceolate to oblanceolate or spatulate, 20–40+ × 3–5+ mm, bases attenuate, margins sparsely serrate to subentire, strigose-ciliate, apices acute to obtuse; proximal cauline usually withering by flowering, sessile, blades linear-oblanceolate, ca. 30 × 2 mm, bases tapering, margins entire, scabrous, apices acute; distal sometimes withering by flowering, sessile, blades linear, 10–30 × 1.5–5 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate or not tapering, margins entire, apices acute, ± mucronulate. |
thin, margins usually shallowly, sometimes deeply serrate, rarely entire (distal), (piloso- to strigoso-)ciliate to scabrous (distal), apices mucronate, abaxial faces moderately pilose, ± densely so on midveins, adaxial glabrate to sparsely pilose or scabrous; basal usually withering by flowering, sometimes persistent, long-petiolate (5–15 cm, petioles not or narrowly winged, sheathing), blades ovate to lance-ovate or lanceolate, 25–120 × 15–50 mm, bases usually shallowly, sometimes deeply, cordate to truncate or rounded, apices acute, sometimes rounded; proximal cauline sometimes deciduous at flowering, winged-petiolate (petioles distally usually broader-winged, clasping), blades ovate to lanceolate, 50–120 × 20–50 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases usually truncate or rounded to attenuate, sometimes cordate, apices usually acute or acuminate, sometimes nearly caudate; distal ± shortly winged-petiolate or sessile, blades lance-ovate or lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 10–100 × 1–25 mm, reduced distally, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins entire to subentire, scabrous, apices acuminate to subcaudate. |
Peduncles | long, gradually reduced distally on branches, glabrous or glabrate, bracts 3–17+, linear, mucronate. |
0.3–2 cm, sparsely pilosulous to glabrate, bracts many, ascending, linear to subulate, 2–4 mm, grading into phyllaries. |
Involucres | cylindro-campanulate, (3.2–) 3.4–4 (–4.3) mm. |
cylindric, (4–)4.5–6(–7) mm. |
Ray florets | 7–14; corollas usually white, seldom pink, laminae (3–)3.8–5.4(–6.2) × 0.5–1.1 mm. |
8–15(–20); corollas mostly white to pale pink or lilac or light blue, laminae 4.5–8(–10) × 0.8–1.5 mm. |
Disc florets | 7–17; corollas yellow becoming brown, (2.2–)2.5–2.9(–3.1) mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.3–0.6(–0.9) mm. |
(8–)10–15(–20); corollas whitish to cream becoming pink, (3.5–)4–5 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats (with hairs), lobes lanceolate, 0.4–0.7 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 3–5 series, oblong-lanceolate, unequal, bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins narrowly scarious, slightly or not erose, sparsely ciliolate or not distally, green zones lanceolate, apices acute, involute, slightly spreading, faces glabrous. |
in 4–6 series, appressed or recurved-spreading, subulate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner), unequal, bases indurate 1/3–1/2+, margins scarious, hyaline, erose, sparsely ciliolate (mostly distally), green zones linear-lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), apices long-acuminate to caudate, recurved, hyaline-mucronate to aristate, tips often purple, faces glabrous. |
Heads | in open, wide, paniculiform arrays, branches arching, sometimes ± secund, abundantly bracteate. |
(crowded) in dense, elongate, paniculiform arrays, branches stiffly ascending to erect (sometimes arched when long, peduncles then often secund), usually racemiform, sometimes paniculiform, leafy. |
Cypselae | yellowish brown, obovoid, ± compressed, ± 1.2–1.3 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces sparsely to moderately strigillose; pappi white (yellowish), 2.4–3.3 mm. |
tan to brown or dull purple (nerves stramineous), obovoid, ± compressed, 1.8–2.5 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces glabrous or glabrate or very sparsely strigillose; pappi white or rose-tinged, 3–4 mm. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Symphyotrichum depauperatum |
Symphyotrichum urophyllum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. | Flowering Aug–Oct. |
Habitat | Serpentine or diabasic soils | Open, dry or mesic, sandy or loamy, sometimes rocky soils, limestone pavements, glades, ravines, open oak, sassafras, aspen, or pine woods, edges of woods, moist or dry, rocky bluffs, savanna, wooded banks, stabilized dunes, fields, roadsides, hedgerows, railroads |
Elevation | 400–1000 m (1300–3300 ft) | 40–300+ m (100–1000+ ft) |
Distribution |
MD; NC; PA |
AL; AR; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
|
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Symphyotrichum depauperatum is federally listed in the United States. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The name Aster sagittifolius Wedemeyer ex Willdenow has been misapplied to this taxon; our interpretation of the type of this entity concords with that of A. G. Jones (1980), i.e., that it is conspecific with the type of Symphyotrichum cordifolium or a garden hybrid involving the latter. Aster sagittifolius forma hirtellus (Lindley) Shinners is not recognized here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 510. | FNA vol. 20, p. 506. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster depauperatus, Aster ericoides var. depauperatus, Aster ericoides var. pusillus, Aster parviceps var. pusillus, Aster pilosus var. pusillus | Aster urophyllus, Aster sagittifolius var. dissitiflorus |
Name authority | (Fernald) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 279. (1995) | (Lindley ex de Candolle) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 294. (1995) |
Web links |