Symphyotrichum laeve |
Symphyotrichum simmondsii |
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aster lisse, Geyer's aster, smooth American-aster, smooth aster, smooth blue aster |
Simmonds' aster |
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Habit | Perennials (15–)20–70(–120) cm, cespitose; stoutly short-rhizomatous, with thick, woody caudices or a few, long rhizomes. | Perennials, 10–120 cm, colonial (sometimes extensively); long-rhizomatous. | ||||||||||||
Stems | 1–5+, erect (straight, glaucous, sometimes reddish proximally), glabrous, sometimes sparsely hirsute distally. |
1–3+, erect (straight, rigid, sometimes stout), sparsely scabrellous or glabrescent to glabrate or glabrous. |
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Leaves | (glaucous) thick, firm, ± fleshy, margins crenate-serrate or -serrulate or entire, scabridulous, apices mucronulate, faces glabrous; basal usually withering by flowering or sometimes persistent (var. purpuratum), petiolate (petioles ± winged, bases dilated, sheathing), blades spatulate or oblong to ovate or lanceolate-ovate, 30–200 × 10–25(–30) mm, bases attenuate or cuneate to rounded, margins crenate-serrate to serrulate, apices acute to obtuse or rounded; proximal cauline often withering by flowering, petiolate or subsessile or sessile (petioles narrowly to broadly winged, clasping), blades ovate or oblong-ovate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, sometimes ± panduriform, (40–)80–150(–180) × (10–)20–45 mm, bases attenuate to rounded or ± shallowly auriculate-clasping, margins entire or shallowly crenate-serrate, minutely scabrous, apices acute or obtuse, callus-pointed; distal sessile, blades lance-ovate or lanceolate to linear, 7–45 × 1–14 mm, progressively reduced distally (abruptly so in arrays), bases auriculate and ± clasping to rounded, margins entire. |
firm, margins recurved, scabrous to scabrellous, apices acute to acuminate, mucronulate, abaxial faces pilosulous to glabrate or glabrous, midveins marked, adaxial scabridulous; basal withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles winged, bases sheathing), blades oblanceolate, 26–80 × 6–16 mm, bases attenuate, margins serrate, apices obtuse to acute; proximal cauline mostly withering by flowering, petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles winged, sheathing to clasping), blades elliptic to oblanceolate or lanceolate or lanceolate-linear to sometimes linear, 45–70+ × 8–15 mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins serrate or crenate-serrate or entire; distal (erect or spreading) sessile, blades lanceolate or oblanceolate to linear, 10–120 × 5–8 mm, reduced distally, sharply so on array branches, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins serrulate or entire. |
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Peduncles | 0.2–6+ cm, glaucous, glabrous or puberulent in lines, bracts 3–6, densely spaced, subulate or linear-lanceolate to linear, subclasping, apices sometimes purplish, grading into phyllaries. |
0.3–6+ cm, irregular in length along branches, sometimes distally reduced, glabrate to sparsely scabridulous, bracts 7–12+, spreading to ascending, abruptly reduced distally, grading into phyllaries. |
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Involucres | campanulate to cylindro-campanulate, (4.2–)5–7(–8) mm. |
campanulate to campanulo-turbinate, (4.5–)6–8 mm. |
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Ray florets | (11–)13–23(–34); corollas usually pale to dark blue or purple, seldom white, laminae (6–)7.2–11.3(–14.6) × 1.5–2.5 mm. |
18–38; corollas pale lilac or lavender to pale purple, laminae 9–11 × 0.9–1.7 mm. |
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Disc florets | (17–)19–33(–43); corollas yellow turning purplish red, 3.5–6.1 mm, tubes slightly shorter than funnelform throats, lobes triangular, (0.4–)0.6–1 mm. |
24–37; corollas yellow becoming reddish, 4.5–7 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.9–1 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in 4–6 series, appressed, subulate or lanceolate (outer) to oblong-lanceolate or linear-lancolate or -oblanceolate, unequal (sometimes appearing subequal), bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, ciliolate distally, green zones mostly diamond-shaped to ± lanceolate (some inner, or most in var. geyeri), apices acute to acuminate, sometimes ± obtuse, red-mucronate or apiculate, faces glabrous. |
in 5–6 series, oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or lanceolate (innermost), strongly unequal, bases indurate 1/2–4/5, margins narrowly scarious, distally erose, hyaline, ciliolate, green zones oblanceolate (outer sometimes ± foliaceous), apices acute (inner sometimes acuminate), mucronate, often purplish tipped, faces glabrous. |
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Heads | in broad, sometimes ± flat-topped, paniculiform arrays, branches stiffly ascending (rarely arching), leafy with small, gradually reduced branch leaves. |
in racemiform to usually open, sometimes ± lax, paniculiform arrays, rarely borne singly, branches ascending to spreading, often straggling and arched, ± leafy (each usually with 10+ heads), secondaries sometimes erect and secund-like. |
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Cypselae | deep purple to brown, oblong-obovoid, compressed, 2–3.5 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces glabrous or glabrate; pappi tawny to red- or rose-tinged, 5–7 mm. |
tan, oblong-obovoid to fusiform-obovoid, compressed, 2–2.6 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces ± strigillose; pappi cream, 4.6–6.5 mm. |
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2n | = 64. |
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Symphyotrichum laeve |
Symphyotrichum simmondsii |
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Phenology | Flowering Oct–Jan. | |||||||||||||
Habitat | Moist or dry soils | |||||||||||||
Elevation | 0–50 m (0–200 ft) | |||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; ON; QC; SK; YT; ne Mexico [Introduced in other areas of Mexico, Central America, Europe]
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FL; NC; SC
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Discussion | Varieties 4 (4 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Symphyotrichum simmondsii is known only from peninsular Florida and the southeastern coastal plain. A report from New Jersey is based on an incomplete specimen and appears doubtful. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 508. | FNA vol. 20, p. 514. | ||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | ||||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||
Synonyms | Aster laevis | Aster simmondsii | ||||||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Á. Löve & D. Löve: Taxon 31: 359. (1982) | (Small) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 291. (1995) | ||||||||||||
Web links |
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