Symphyotrichum ericoides |
Symphyotrichum campestre |
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aster éricoïde, heath American-aster, heath-leaf aster, little gray aster, rayless alkali aster, tuft white prairie aster, white heath aster |
meadow aster, western meadow aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 20–80(–100) cm, colonial or cespitose, eglandular; branched rhizomatous, or with ± cormoid, branched, woody caudices. | Perennials, 10–40 cm, colonial or cespitose; long-rhizomatous. | ||||
Stems | 1–3+, ascending to erect (grayish brown to brown), sparsely to densely hispido-strigose, sometimes glabrescent proximally. |
1–5+, ascending to erect (light to dark brown), proximally glabrous, distally strigose, stipitate-glandular. |
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Leaves | usually all except rameal withered by flowering, (light grayish green) firm apices ± white-spine-tipped (often with clusters of smaller leaves in axils); basal sessile, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate to oblong or spatulate, 10–50 × 10–25 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, scabrous, apices rounded to obtuse, faces usually sparsely hairy, often glabrous; proximal cauline sessile, blades (1- or 3-nerved) linear to lanceolate or oblong, 10–40(–60) × 1.5–4(–7) mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, coarsely ciliate, margins entire, coarsely ciliate, apices acute or obtuse, faces moderately to densely strigose or hirsute; distal sessile, blades oblong-ovate, 10–40 × 1.5–3.5 mm, abruptly reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, faces moderately to densely strigose. |
(light green) firm, margins entire, scabrous; basal sometimes persistent, sessile, blades (1–3-nerved) linear-oblanceolate, 10–30 × 4–10 mm, bases attenuate, apices obtuse, mucronate, faces glabrate to sparsely scabrous; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades (3-nerved) narrowly oblanceolate, 20–80 × 2–8 mm, bases cuneate, apices obtuse to acute, mucronulate or white-spinulose, faces glabrous or moderately short-strigose, stipitate-glandular; distal sessile, blades linear-oblanceolate to -lanceolate or oblong (distally), 20–50 × 2–5 mm, ± reduced distally, bases ± clasping to cuneate, apices acute, mucronulate, faces glabrous or moderately short-strigose, stipitate-glandular. |
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Peduncles | 0.5–1(–2) cm or subsessile, densely hairy, bracts dense, linear to narrowly lanceolate, usually reflexed, sometime appressed to ascending, 1.5–5(–6) mm, densely hairy, grading into phyllaries. |
sparsely to moderately short-strigose, moderately stipitate-glandular, bracts ± ascending, linear to narrowly-lanceolate. |
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Involucres | cylindric to campanulate, 2.5–4.5(–5) mm. |
campanulate to cylindro-campanulate, 5.5–8 mm. |
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Ray florets | (8–)10–18(–20); corollas usually white, rarely pink or bluish, laminae 6–12(–20) × 0.7–1.2 mm. |
15–31; corollas violet, laminae (5–)6–15 × 1–2 mm. |
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Disc florets | 6–12(–20); corollas yellow becoming brown, 2.5–4 mm, throats narrowly funnelform, lobes triangular, 0.5–0.6 mm, glabrous. |
25–40; corollas yellow, 4.5–6 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.8 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, oblanceolate to ± spatulate, unequal, firm, bases (whitish to tan) ± indurate in proximal 1/2–2/3, margins hyaline, scabrous proximally, green zones diamond-shaped, in distal 1/2, apices spine-tipped, (outer) spreading to reflexed or squarrose, faces (outer) sparsely to densely hispid, scabroso-hirsute adaxially, (inner) glabrous. |
in 3–4 series, linear to lanceolate, subequal to unequal, bases ± indurate, margins scarious, green zones covering distal portion, apices acute to acuminate, outer ± foliaceous, spreading to reflexed, faces glabrate, sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular. |
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Heads | (1–200+) in paniculiform arrays, branches fastigiate or arrays often pyramidal, racemiform, secund, crowded. |
1–10(–30), borne singly or in paniculiform arrays, branches ascending. |
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Cypselae | deep purple turning brown, obovoid to oblong-obovoid, ± falcate, not compressed, 1.2–2 × 0.4–0.6 mm, 7–9-nerved (faint), faces sericeous or densely strigillose; pappi whitish, 3–4 mm. |
light brown, sometimes translucent reddish brown between ribs, narrowly obovoid, ± compressed, 2–2.5 mm, 3–4-nerved (faint), moderately strigose on ribs; pappi tawny, 3.8–6 mm. |
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2n | = 10. |
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Symphyotrichum ericoides |
Symphyotrichum campestre |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Open, often dry, disturbed, rocky and sandy soils near ponds and streams, dry grass meadows, open pine-douglas fir forests, plains to montane zones | |||||
Elevation | 1500–2500 m (4900–8200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AR; AZ; CO; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SD; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; ON; QC; SK; n Mexico
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CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; WY; AB; BC
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Symphyotrichum ericoides resembles S. pilosum var. pilosum, which has larger heads, longer rays, and phyllaries that are not spine-tipped, though the revolute margins can make them appear so. Two subspecies and four weakly separated varieties of S. ericoides were recognized by A. G. Jones (1978). Tetraploids of var. ericoides on the eastern prairies can be difficult to distinguish from S. falcatum. A number of aster cultivars are sold under the name “Aster ericoides.” These are all derived from European garden plants and are either cultivars of S. dumosum, S. lateriflorum, S. pilosum, or S. racemosum, or hybrids involving one of those species and another taxon. The misapplication of the epithet ericoides dates back to the nineteenth century and has persisted in the horticultural literature. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Two poorly defined varieties of Symphyotrichum campestre have been described. Variety campestre has glabrous or sparsely strigose leaves and occurs in southern British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Bloomer’s Aster, var. bloomeri, has moderately strigose leaves and occurs in California, Nevada, and Oregon. The varieties are not sufficiently distinct to warrant recognition. Symphyotrichum ×columbianum (Piper) G. L. Nesom (syn. Aster columbianus Piper, A. multiflorus Aiton var. columbianus (Piper) S. F. Blake, Virgulus ×columbianus (Piper) Reveal & Keener) is the hybrid between S. campestre and S. ericoides subsp. pansum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 494. | FNA vol. 20, p. 484. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Aster ericoides, Lasallea ericoides, Virgulus ericoides | Aster campestris, Aster bloomeri, Aster campestris var. bloomeri, S. campestre var. bloomeri, Virgulus campestris | ||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 280. (1995) | (Nuttall) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 276. (1995) | ||||
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