Symphyotrichum drummondii |
Symphyotrichum drummondii var. drummondii |
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Drummond's aster |
Drummond's aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 30–120 cm, cespitose; short-rhizomatous or with stout, often woody caudices. | Plants 40–120 cm. | ||||
Stems | 1–5+, erect (straight, stout), glabrate or glabrescent, sparsely pilose, or hirsuto-pilose proximally, ± densely so distally. |
sparsely (proximally) to densely hirsute distally. |
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Leaves | (abaxially pale or grayish green, adaxially dark green) initially ± firm or membranous, becoming thicker, margins crenate-serrate to serrate, strigoso-ciliate to scabrous, apices acuminate to acute, mucronate, abaxial faces scabrous to densely piloso-strigose, more so on veins, adaxial scabrous to glabrate; basal withering by flowering, long-petiolate (petioles narrowly winged, sheathing, sometimes ciliate), blades ovate to ovate-oblong or -lanceolate to elliptic or suborbiculate, 10–85(–100) × 8–60 mm, bases deeply cordate to rounded or abruptly attenuate, margins crenate-serrate, apices usually rounded to obtuse, rarely acute; proximal cauline often withering by flowering, long-petiolate (petioles narrowly winged, more broadly so distally, ciliate), blades ovate or ovate-lanceolate, (25–)50–120(–150) × (15–)20–50(–65) mm, progressively to slightly reduced distally, bases deeply to shallowly cordate or rounded, margins crenate-serrate to sharply serrate; distal petiolate or subpetiolate or sessile, petioles broadly winged, blades ovate to ovate- or oblong-lanceolate, to oblong-elliptic or linear-lanceolate (4–)5–110 × 1–50 mm, reduced distally (sharply so on array branches in var. texanum), bases shallowly cordate or rounded to attenuate or cuneate (distally), margins crenate-serrate or -serrulate or entire. |
firm, basal and proximal long-petiolate, petioles ± winged; proximal cauline blade bases ± cordate or truncate, sometimes obliquely. |
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Peduncles | 0, or 0.2–1.5(–4) cm, densely ascending- or appressed-bracteate, pilosulous, bracts 4–17+, lanceolate or subulate to linear-oblanceolate, distally grading into phyllaries, pilosulous or strigoso-ciliate. |
± secund, 0–4 cm, bracteate. |
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Involucres | campanulate, (3.5–)4.5–6(–6.5) mm. |
campanulate, (3.5–)4.5–7 mm. |
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Ray florets/ |
(8–)10–15(—20); corollas usually bright blue to purple or lavender, sometimes white, laminae (5–)7–10(–12) × 1–1.8 mm. |
usually bright blue, light purple, bluish violet, or lavender, sometimes white. |
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Disc florets | (10–)13–15(–22); corollas cream to yellow, becoming deep purple or reddish purple, 3.5–4.5(–5) mm, tubes shorter than funnelform to cylindric throats, lobes triangular to lanceolate, 0.4–0.7 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in 4–5 series, subulate or lanceolate (outermost) to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, unequal, bases indurate 1/4–3/4, margins narrowly scarious proximally, hyaline, ciliate, bodies sometimes green to margins distally, green zones lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate or long-acuminate, tips often purple, sometimes involute, mucronulate, faces glabrous. |
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Heads | in open, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending to divaricate, often densely racemiform or ± paniculiform (lateral ones open, racemiform) to subsecund, ± stiff to lax, long to relatively short, ± closely to ± remotely leafy, branch leaves progressively or ± abruptly reduced distally. |
in ample, paniculiform arrays with divaricate or ascending, bracteate, often racemiform branches. |
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Cypselae | dull purple or brown to tan (ribs tan to stramineous), obovoid, ± compressed, (1.5–)2–3 mm, 5–6-nerved, faces glabrate to sparsely strigillose distally; pappi cream to rose-tinged, 3–4 mm. |
glabrous. |
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2n | = 16, 32. |
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Symphyotrichum drummondii |
Symphyotrichum drummondii var. drummondii |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Mostly shaded, loamy or rocky, mesic to dry soils, open deciduous woods, clearings, thickets, stream banks and edges of swamps, sometimes roadsides or ditches | |||||
Elevation | 10–500+ m (0–1600+ ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NE; OH; OK; PA; TN; TX; WI; WV; ne Mexico
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AL; AR; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NE; OH; OK; PA; TN; TX; WI; WV |
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Variety texanum is tetraploid; var. drummondii is both diploid and tetraploid. The tetraploid race of var. drummondii is most likely autopolyploid; origin of var. texanum has not been determined. The two taxa intergrade and do not appear to warrant species status. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Variety drummondii is often confused with Symphyotrichum urophyllum, a usually white-rayed species with erect array branches. Hybridization has been reported with S. urophyllum, as well as with S. shortii or S. undulatum (the name Aster ×finkii Rydberg possibly applies to such hybrids). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 503. | FNA vol. 20, p. 504. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum > Symphyotrichum drummondii | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Aster drummondii, Aster sagittifolius var. drummondii | |||||
Name authority | (Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 279. (1995) | unknown | ||||
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