Symphyotrichum grandiflorum |
Symphyotrichum frondosum |
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big-head aster, large-flower aster |
alkali aster, leafy annual American-aster, short-ray alkali aster, short-ray aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 50–100 cm, colonial; woody rhizomatous. | Annuals or sometimes perennials, 5–140 cm. |
Stems | 1–5+, erect (stout, brown), proximally ± hispid, distally sparsely strigose, distally stipitate-glandular. |
1–6+, decumbent to erect (straight), glabrous. |
Leaves | stiff (dark green), greatly reduced distally, margins entire, scabrous; basal early deciduous, sessile, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate, 40–80 × 4–12 mm, bases attenuate, apices obtuse to acute, faces sparsely scabrous; proximal cauline usually withered by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, 20–60 × 5–20 mm, bases cordate-clasping, apices acute, mucronulate, faces glabrate to sparsely scabrous, stipitate-glandular; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to oblong, 20–40 × 5–8 mm, bases cuneate, apices acute, mucronulate to white-spinulose, faces glabrous or scabrous, sparsely 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 | 3–5 cm, short-strigose, stipitate-glandular, bracts spreading to reflexed, lanceolate-oblong, 5–10 mm, little reduced distally, grading into phyllaries. |
glabrous, bracts linear. |
Involucres | campanulate, 8.5–12 mm. |
narrowly campanulate, 5–9 mm. |
Ray florets | 14–35; corollas light to reddish purple, laminae 11–15(–20) × 1.5–2.5 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 | 25–35; corollas yellow becoming reddish purple, 5.5–8 mm, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.7–1 mm. |
± 37; corollas yellow, 4.4–5.2 mm, barely ampliate, tubes much longer than cylindric limbs, lobes lanceolate, ± 0.3 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, spatulate-oblanceolate, unequal, bases ± indurate, margins scarious, green zones covering distal portion, apices spreading to strongly reflexed, faces sparsely scabrous, moderately 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 racemiform to paniculiform arrays, branches patent or ascending with 1–5+ heads. |
(radiate) in narrow, paniculiform to spiciform arrays, branches often in axils of nearly every leaf, ascending. |
Cypselae | light brown, cylindric to narrowly obovoid, ± compressed, 3–4.5 mm, 7–10-nerved (brown), faces moderately strigose; pappi tan, 5.5–6 mm. |
tan, obovoid, ± compressed, 2 mm, 2–3-nerved, faces strigillose; pappi white to yellowish, 6.3–7.5 mm. |
2n | = 30, 60. |
= 14. |
Symphyotrichum grandiflorum |
Symphyotrichum frondosum |
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Phenology | Flowering (Sep–)Oct(–Nov). | Flowering Aug–Oct. |
Habitat | Sandy soils, sand hills, roadsides, edges of deciduous woods and thickets | Moist, usually saline soils, summer-receding shores of lakes or ponds, vernally moist, alkaline bottoms, marshes, often in steppes |
Elevation | 0–200+ m (0–700+ ft) | 10–2200 m (0–7200 ft) |
Distribution |
NC; SC; VA
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AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 484. | FNA vol. 20, p. 499. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Conyzopsis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster grandiflorus, Virgulus grandiflorus | Tripolium frondosum, Aster frondosus, Brachyactis frondosa |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 283. (1995) | (Nuttall) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 282. (1995) |
Web links |
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