Symphyotrichum foliaceum
Symphyotrichum subulatum
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
annual saltmarsh American-aster, annual saltmarsh aster, annual saltmarsh or eastern annual saltmarsh aster, aster subulé, eastern annual saltmarsh aster, Southwestern annual saltmarsh aster
1–5+, ascending to erect, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.
1, erect (often with purple or purplish brown areas), glabrous or glabrate, sometimes strigillose in leaf axils.
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 (green to dark green), margins often strigilloso-ciliolate, faces glabrous;
basal withering by flowering, long-petiolate (petiole bases sheathing), sparsely ciliate, blades ovate to oblanceolate, 10–90 × 6–14 mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, rounded, margins entire or serrulate or crenulate, apices rounded, obtuse, or acute;
proximal cauline withering by flowering, petiolate, subpetiolate, or sessile, blades narrowly lanceolate or subulate, 20–100(–200) × 1.5–10(–20) mm, bases attenuate, margins subentire, entire, or serrulate, apices acute to acuminate;
distal sessile, blades narrowly lanceolate to subulate, 5–113 × 0.5–5.5 mm, apices acuminate.
sparsely hairy, bracts 0–3, lanceolate.
(0.2–)0.5–4 cm, bracts 4–8(–17).
campanulate, 6–16(–20) mm.
cylindric to turbinate, 5–7(–8.2) mm.
15–60;
corollas violet to purple, laminae 8–18(–20) × 1–2 mm.
16–30(–54) in 1–3 series;
corollas white, pink, or lavender, laminae 1.3–7 × 0.2–1.3 mm.
50–150;
corollas yellow, 4–7 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–1 mm.
4–10(–13);
corollas yello, sometimes tinged with purple, 3.4–5.2 mm, throats narrowly funnelform, lobes ± spreading to erect, narrowly triangular, 0.3–0.7 mm, glabrous.
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 3–5 series, broadly or narrowly lanceolate to subulate, unequal, bases indurate, margins hyaline, often purple-tinged, entire, green zones lanceolate (usually narrow, sometimes broad and covering most of distal portion), apices acute, faces glabrous.
borne singly or in paniculiform arrays, branches ascending, up to 25 cm.
(10–) 30–100(–150), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays.
brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 2.5–4 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces hairy;
pappi white to tawny, 5–8 mm.
light brown to purple, narrowly obovoid to fusiform, sometimes ± compressed, (1.2–)1.5–2.7(–3) mm, 5-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose;
pappi white, (3–)3.5–5.5 mm.
Symphyotrichum foliaceum
Symphyotrichum subulatum
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.)
Varieties 5 (5 in the flora).
Five varieties of Symphyotrichum subulatum are recognized for North America based on differences in chromosome number, ray lamina color and size, array shapes, number of series of ray florets, number of disc and ray florets, and other, more cryptic characters (S. D. Sundberg 2004). These varieties were treated as species by G. L. Nesom (1994b, 2005d). Variety ligulatum is apparently an obligate outcrosser and is the least variable variety (Sundberg). Other varieties are self-compatible, which could facilitate the fixation of mutations in populations.
The five varieties are nearly entirely allopatric, and intermediates between pairs of varieties are not uncommon where they approach one another. Populations that are intermediate in ray lamina size between vars. ligulatum and parviflorum are widespread in southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico. Intermediates between vars. elongatum and parviflorum and between vars. elongatum and subulatum occur in Florida. Despite these observations, hybridization experiments and chromosome number differences suggest that the varieties are mostly reproductively isolated (S. D. Sundberg 1986, 2004).
In older floras the name Aster exilis Elliott has been applied to Symphyotrichum subulatum vars. ligulatum and parviflorum. The status of this name is uncertain; the type specimen has been lost and the description of the plant is inadequate for determining the taxon to which the name should be applied (G. L. Nesom 1994b; S. D. Sundberg 2004).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Plants 5–30 cm; heads 1–12; phyllaries subequal, narrowly lanceolate | → 2 |
1. Plants usually 20–60 cm; heads usually 5–20; outer phyllaries exceeding inner, wider, often foliaceous | → 3 |
2. Plants 5–20 cm; heads usually borne singly; phyllaries often purple-tinged; alpine or sub- alpine habitats | var. apricum |
2. Plants 10–30 cm; heads usually 1–12; phyllaries green; montane to subalpine habitats. | var. parryi |
3. Phyllaries obtuse to rounded; cauline leaves often clasping at base | var. canbyi |
3. Phyllaries acute; cauline leaves sometimes rounded at base, not clasping | var. foliaceum |
1. Ray laminae lavender to blue, (3.5–)4.5–7 × 0.9–1.3 mm, drying in 3–5 coils; ray florets in 1 series; disc florets (20–)33–50 (sc United States) | var. ligulatum |
1. Ray laminae white to pink or lavender, 1.3–3.5(–4.2) × 0.2–0.6 mm, drying in (0–)1–3(–4) coils; ray florets in 1–3 series; disc florets 3–23 | → 2 |
2. Ray laminae pink to lavender, (2–)2.5–3.5(–4.2) × 0.3–0.6 mm, drying in 2–3(–4) coils; disc florets 11–23 (Florida, West Indies) | var. elongatum |
2. Ray laminae usually white, rarely pink or lavender, 1.3–3 × 0.2–0.5 mm, drying in 1 coil or curling; disc florets (3–)4–15 | → 3 |
3. Ray laminae longer than pappi; phyllaries 30–42; pappi 3.5–3.8(–4.2) mm; w United States | var. parviflorum |
3. Ray laminae shorter to slightly longer than pappi; phyllaries 18–30; pappi 3.5–5.5 mm; e and se United States | → 4 |
4. Green zones of phyllaries narrowly to broadly lanceolate, extending phyllary length; ray laminae 0.2–0.5 mm wide; disc florets 3.8–4.6(–4.9) mm; salt marshes, e North America and Gulf Coast | var. subulatum |
4. Green zones of phyllaries broadly lanceolate, nearly absent from proximal portion; ray laminae 0.2–0.3 mm wide; disc florets 3.2–4.1 mm; adventive, s United States | var. squamatum |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
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USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
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- Local floras: CA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
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- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
