Symphyotrichum falcatum
Symphyotrichum rhiannon
Lindley's aster, little gray aster, little grey aster, western heath or white prairie aster, white prairie aster
Rhiannon aster, Rhiannon's aster
1–5+, ascending to erect (grayish brown to brown), moderately to densely hairy.
1, erect (straight), hirsute to hispido-hirsute, hirsutulous distally.
(light grayish green) firm, margins entire, strigose, apices ± spine-tipped;
basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 10–40 × 3–10 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, rounded to mucronulate-spinose, faces glabrate to moderately strigose;
proximal cauline sessile, blades linear oblanceolate to oblong, 10–40(–60) × 1.5–4(–7) mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, coarsely ciliate, apices acute or obtuse, faces sparsely to densely appressed hispido-strigose;
distal sessile, blades linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 25–45 × 2–3 mm, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, faces moderately to densely strigose.
margins shallowly crenate to serrate-crenate, abaxial faces strigillose, adaxial scabrous;
basal withering by flowering, petiolate, petioles winged, clasping to subclasping, shallowly auriculate, blades subspatulate or oblanceolate-elliptic, 30–70 × 10–15 mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, apices acute;
proximal cauline withering by flowering, widely winged-petiolate, blades oblanceolate-elliptic, 50–110 × 8–22 mm, bases attenuate, apices acute;
distal subsessile, blades oblong-lanceolate, 10–30 × 4–6(–8) mm.
0.2–4 cm, densely hairy, bracts 1–3+, linear to lanceolate, densely hairy.
0.5–1.5(–3) cm, bracts foliaceous.
campanulate, (4.5–)5–8 mm.
turbino-campanulate, 6–11 wide mm.
(15–)20–35;
corollas usually white, sometimes blue or pink, laminae (8–)18–30 × 1.1–1.4 mm.
18–32;
corollas blue to lavender, laminae 6–9 × 0.8–1.4 mm.
(8–)18–30;
corollas yellow becoming brown, 2–2.5 mm, lobes triangular, 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous.
[number unknown];
corollas yellow, at least lobes becoming purple, (4–)4.5–5.5 mm, tubes shorter than cylindro-funnelform limbs, lobes triangular, 0.8–1 mm.
in 3–4 series, outer oblanceolate to spatulate (1.5–2 mm), inner linear-lanceolate (3–4 mm), unequal, bases (whitish to tan) ± indurate in basal 1/2–3/4, margins hyaline, scabrous proximally, green zones diamond-shaped, in distal 1/4–1/2, apices (outer) acute to obtuse, clear spine-tipped, spreading to reflexed, (inner) acuminate to attenuate, faces sparsely to moderately hispid-strigose.
in 3–4 series, slightly unequal, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, bases indurate 1/2–2/3, margins not scarious, irregularly ciliolate, green zones rhombic-lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or distally strigoso-puberulent.
[(1–)10–200+] in racemiform to diffuse-paniculiform arrays (1–10+ per branch, usually not crowded).
in broad, cylindro-paniculiform arrays, branches ascending.
dark brown, obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, faint-nerved, faces densely strigose;
pappi whitish, 4.5–6 mm.
tan to often purplish, oblong to oblanceoloid, ± compressed, 2.6–3 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose;
pappi white, [length unknown] mm.
Symphyotrichum falcatum
Symphyotrichum rhiannon
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Symphyotrichum falcatum is introduced in Ontario and Illinois. It may closely resemble S. ericoides, which has smaller heads with fewer florets in denser arrays. The two can be difficult to distinguish on the Great Plains. A. G. Jones (1978) recognized two subspecies of S. falcatum, one with two varieties. Those two subspecies are treated as varieties here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Symphyotrichum rhiannon is known only from a southern Appalachian high-elevation outcrop barren around Buck Creek, southern Nantahala Mountains, Clay County.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Plants cespitose, 1–5(–10)-stemmed, usually sparsely appressed-strigose, with cormoid caudices; new shoots developing near the bases of old stems; peduncles long, slender, bracts 1–5; phyllaries subequal (outer longest and foliaceous), apices not strongly squarrose | var. falcatum |
1. Plants colonial, usually densely hairy, rhizomes entangled, usually 1-stemmed, sometimes clumped; new shoots developing at ends of elongated rhizomes; peduncles stout, bracts 2–10+; phyllaries ± unequal, apices strongly squarrose | var. commutatum |
BC
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MN Wildflowers
MO Plants
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
