Symphyotrichum georgianum |
Symphyotrichum frondosum |
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Georgia aster |
alkali aster, leafy annual American-aster, short-ray alkali aster, short-ray aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 50–100 cm, colonial; rhizomatous, woody. | Annuals or sometimes perennials, 5–140 cm. |
Stems | 1–5+, erect, straight (± stout, light to dark brown), proximally sparsely to moderately short-strigose, distally densely so, stipitate-glandular. |
1–6+, decumbent to erect (straight), glabrous. |
Leaves | (dark green) thick, firm, margins revolute (sometimes ± undulate), scabrous; basal early deciduous, sessile or subpetiolate, blades spatulate to obovate [size unknown], bases cuneate, margins entire to ± serrate, apices acute, faces finely scabrous; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades (adaxially obscurely veined) oblong to lanceolate or narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, proximalmost ± pandurate, 20–70 × 10–20 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases auriculate-clasping, margins entire, finely scabrous, faces finely scabrous, stipitate-glandular; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to oblanceolate, 14–50 × 6–11 mm, reduced distally (much smaller on branches and grading ± abruptly into bracts), bases ± auriculate-clasping to subclasping, margins entire, apices mucronate to white-spinulose, faces scabrous, sometimes sparsely to moderately stipitate-glandular. |
thin, margins entire (basal sometimes serrulate), sometimes ciliate or remotely scabrous, acute to ± obtuse, faces glabrous; basal withering by flowering, petiolate, blades oblanceolate to spatulate, 20–115 × 2–15 mm [cult.], bases attenuate; proximal cauline withering by flowering; cauline subpetiolate or sessile (distal), blades oblanceolate to linear, 10–80 × 1.5–10 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate. |
Peduncles | densely short-strigose, ± densely short-stipitate-glandular, bracts 1–8+, spreading to reflexed, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, strigillose, stipitate-glandular, grading into phyllaries. |
glabrous, bracts linear. |
Involucres | campanulate to hemispheric, 8–10 mm. |
narrowly campanulate, 5–9 mm. |
Ray florets | 12–24; corollas lavender violet to dark reddish purple, laminae 14–24 × 1.5–3.5 mm. |
90–110 in 4–5+ series; corollas pink to pinkish white, laminae 1.5–2 × 0.1–0.2 mm (surpassing style branches, barely surpassing disc corollas; tubes ± 3 mm). |
Disc florets | 20–40; corollas white with purplish lobes, 7–9 mm, throats cylindro-funnelform (sparsely pilose), lobes narrowly triangular, 0.7–1.5 mm (sparsely glandular). |
± 37; corollas yellow, 4.4–5.2 mm, barely ampliate, tubes much longer than cylindric limbs, lobes lanceolate, ± 0.3 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 4–7 series, spatulate-oblong to lanceolate, unequal, innermost linear-lanceolate, bases tan, ± indurate in proximal 1/3–1/2, margins hyaline, not (outer) to narrowly scarious, strigoso- or hispido-ciliate, sometimes also stipitate-glandular (foliaceous apices), green zones lanceolate-spatulate, covering distal 1/2 or less, foliaceous apically, apices acute (outer) to acuminate or ± caudate (inner), spreading or reflexed (longer, inner), often purplish, faces moderately strigillose, stipitate-glandular. |
in 3–4 series, ± spreading, oblong-oblanceolate or -lanceolate to obovate, subequal to ± unequal, linear-lanceolate or linear (innermost), bases scarious, margins narrowly scarious, hyaline, erose, ciliolate, green zones (outer) foliaceous, (inner) lanceolate, apices obtuse to rounded, inner acute, mucronulate, faces glabrous. |
Heads | in narrow, racemiform to ± broad, paniculiform arrays, sometimes borne singly on branches, branches initially patent then ascending, leafy. |
(radiate) in narrow, paniculiform to spiciform arrays, branches often in axils of nearly every leaf, ascending. |
Cypselae | gray-brown, narrowly obovoid, compressed, 2.5–4 mm, 7–10-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi tan to tawny, 9–11 mm. |
tan, obovoid, ± compressed, 2 mm, 2–3-nerved, faces strigillose; pappi white to yellowish, 6.3–7.5 mm. |
2n | = 50. |
= 14. |
Symphyotrichum georgianum |
Symphyotrichum frondosum |
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Phenology | Flowering Oct–Nov. | Flowering Aug–Oct. |
Habitat | Sandy and clay soils, oak-pine woodlands, road embankments (mostly Piedmont) | Moist, usually saline soils, summer-receding shores of lakes or ponds, vernally moist, alkaline bottoms, marshes, often in steppes |
Elevation | 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) | 10–2200 m (0–7200 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; NC; SC |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Of conservation concern. Symphyotrichum georgianum is disjunct and rare in southwestern Georgia and Leon County, Florida. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 490. | FNA vol. 20, p. 499. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster georgianus, Aster patens var. georgianus, Virgulus georgianus, Virgulus patens var. georgianus | Tripolium frondosum, Aster frondosus, Brachyactis frondosa |
Name authority | (Alexander) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 282. (1995) | (Nuttall) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 282. (1995) |
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