Symphyotrichum ericoides |
Symphyotrichum greatae |
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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 |
Greata's aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 20–80(–100) cm, colonial or cespitose, eglandular; branched rhizomatous, or with ± cormoid, branched, woody caudices. | Perennials 50–150(–200) cm, colonial; 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, sparsely hispid distally. |
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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. |
thin, margins entire to serrate, apices acute, faces scabrous; basal withering by flowering, petiolate, blades elliptic to obovate 30–300 × 15–50 mm, attenuate, margins entire to serrate, apices acute, faces rough-hispidulous; proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, sessile, blades elliptic to obovate, 100–200 × 20–50 mm, bases rounded to ± clasping, sometimes auriculate, apices acute; distal sessile, blades 20–150 × 10–40 mm, bases cuneate, usually auriculate, apices acute. |
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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 hairy, bracts lanceolate to linear. |
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Involucres | cylindric to campanulate, 2.5–4.5(–5) mm. |
campanulate, 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. |
15–40; corollas violet, laminae 8–15 × 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. |
35–60+; corollas yellow, 3.5–4 mm, lobes triangular, 0.5–0.8 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 4–6 series, narrowly oblong (outer) to linear (inner), unequal to subequal, bases scarious, margins scarious, entire, green zones lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, apices acute, faces glabrate or puberulent. |
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Heads | (1–200+) in paniculiform arrays, branches fastigiate or arrays often pyramidal, racemiform, secund, crowded. |
in paniculiform arrays, branches 10–30 cm. |
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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. |
brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 2.5–3.5 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces hairy; pappi white, 3.5–4 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Symphyotrichum ericoides |
Symphyotrichum greatae |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Damp places in chaparral canyons | |||||
Elevation | 500–1500 m (1600–4900 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
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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.) |
Of conservation concern. Symphyotrichum greatae is known from the south slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains. (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. 532. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Occidentales | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Aster ericoides, Lasallea ericoides, Virgulus ericoides | Aster greatae | ||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 280. (1995) | (Parish) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 283. (1995) | ||||
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