Symphyotrichum foliaceum |
Symphyotrichum cusickii |
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alpine leafybract aster, Canby's leafybract aster, Cusick's American aster, Cusick's aster, Henderson's aster, Kootenai aster, leafy aster, leafy or leafy-bract or alpine leafybract aster, leafy-bract aster, Parry's aster |
Cusick's American aster, Cusick's aster |
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Habit | Perennials 10–60 cm, colonial; long-rhizomatous. | Perennials, 40–100 cm, colonial or cespitose; long-rhizomatous. | ||||||||||||
Stems | 1–5+, ascending to erect, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. |
1–5+, ascending to erect, glabrous or puberulent. |
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Leaves | thin, margins entire or sometimes serrate, apices acute to obtuse, faces usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely hairy; basal usually persistent, petiolate to subpetiolate, blades broadly elliptic to obovate, 30–200 × 8–25(–30) mm, bases attenuate, margins entire or sometimes serrate, apices acute to obtuse; proximal cauline sessile or subpetiolate, blades elliptic to obovate, 35–120 × 8–25 mm, bases attenuate or cuneate to rounded, sometimes ± clasping, apices acute; distal sessile, reduced distally, bases cuneate, apices acute. |
thin, margins entire, apices acute, faces glabrous or puberulent; basal often withering by flowering, petiolate, blades broadly elliptic to obovate, 5–200 × 10–35 mm, attenuate or cuneate, margins entire, apices acute; proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate to obovate, 70–120 × 15–50 mm, bases strongly clasping, enlarged and usually narrowed distally, usually prominently auriculate, margins entire, apices acute; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to broadly elliptic, 30–110 × 10–30 mm, bases truncate or auriculate, margins entire. |
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Peduncles | sparsely hairy, bracts 0–3, lanceolate. |
sparsely to densely cinereous, bracts lanceolate. |
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Involucres | campanulate, 6–16(–20) mm. |
campanulate, 10–20 mm. |
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Ray florets | 15–60; corollas violet to purple, laminae 8–18(–20) × 1–2 mm. |
25–55; corollas violet, laminae 10–18 × 1–2 mm. |
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Disc florets | 50–150; corollas yellow, 4–7 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–1 mm. |
60–150+; corollas yellow, 2.5–4 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.5 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in 4–6 series, oblanceolate or oblong (outer) to lanceolate or linear (inner), subequal or unequal (outer exceeding inner), bases outer foliaceous, inner indurate, margins entire, green zones elliptic to lanceolate, apices acute to rounded, faces glabrous or puberulent. |
in 4–5 series, broadly to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), ± equal or outer slightly exceeding inner, bases outer foliaceous, inner scarious, margins scarious, entire or erose, green zones elliptic to lanceolate, apices acute, faces glabrous or finely hairy. |
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Heads | borne singly or in paniculiform arrays, branches ascending, up to 25 cm. |
borne singly or in often congested, paniculiform arrays, branches 20–30 cm. |
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Cypselae | brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 2.5–4 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces hairy; pappi white to tawny, 5–8 mm. |
brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 3–3.5 mm, 3–6-nerved, faces hairy; pappi white, 5–9(–11) mm. |
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2n | = 16, 32. |
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Symphyotrichum foliaceum |
Symphyotrichum cusickii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Aug. | |||||||||||||
Habitat | Damp meadows in dry forests, often near springs and streams | |||||||||||||
Elevation | 1000–1500 m (3300–4900 ft) | |||||||||||||
Distribution |
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
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ID; MT; OR; WA; AB
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Discussion | Varieties 4 (4 in the flora). Symphyotrichum foliaceum is extremely variable and is widespread in western montane coniferous forests and subalpine meadows. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Symphyotrichum cusickii occurs principally in north-eastern Oregon, north-central Idaho, and adjacent western Montana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 532. | FNA vol. 20, p. 532. | ||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Occidentales | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Occidentales | ||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||
Synonyms | Aster foliaceus | Aster cusickii, Aster foliaceus var. cusickii | ||||||||||||
Name authority | (Lindley ex de Candolle) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 282. (1995) | (A. Gray) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 278. (1995) | ||||||||||||
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