Symphyotrichum ontarionis |
Symphyotrichum puniceum |
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aster du lac Ontario, bottomland aster, Ontario American-aster, Ontario aster |
aster ponceau, purple-stem American-aster, purple-stem aster, purplestem or swamp or red-stem aster, swamp aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 20–120 cm, colonial; long-rhizomatous. | Perennials (7–)100–250(–300) cm, cespitose; thickly short-rhizomatous or with stout, branched caudices, sometimes long-rhizomatous. | ||||||||
Stems | 1–(2–3), ascending to erect (straight), proximally glabrate, distally uniformly villous or hirsute, or glabrous (var. glabratum). |
1–5+, erect (straight to distally flexuous, stout 5–11 mm diam., usually reddish purple), usually densely to sparsely hirsute or hispid, glabrescent, often proximally glabrate, sometimes glabrate. |
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Leaves | thin, margins scabrous, apices mucronate, abaxial faces usually sparsely to densely strigose or strigillose, sometimes glabrous (var. glabrum), adaxial usually strigose or scabrous, sometimes glabrate or glabrous (var. glabrum); basal withering by flowering, petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles narrowly winged, ciliate, bases sheathing), blades spatulate to oblanceolate-obovate, 10–40 × 5–10 mm, bases attenuate, margins crenate-serrate, apices acute to rounded; proximalmost cauline usually withering by flowering, petiolate or sessile (petioles narrowly winged, ± clasping), blades ovate or lance-ovate to elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 20–80(–12) × 5–35 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins serrate (sometimes coarsely) to crenate-serrate, apices acute to acuminate or short-caudate; distal sessile, blades elliptic-lanceolate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, (6–)10–80+ × 2–25 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire to serrulate, apices acute to acuminate. |
(dark green, not crowded) thin, margins remotely serrate to sometimes entire, scabrous, apices acute or acuminate to subcaudate, mucronate, abaxial faces glabrate, ± densely pilose along midveins, adaxial glabrate to scabrous; basal withering by flowering, subpetiolate to petiolate (petioles ± winged, bases dilated, sheathing), blades spatulate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, 30–10+ × 3–20+ mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, margins remotely crenate-serrate to denticulate or entire, apices acute or acuminate to rounded; proximal cauline withering by flowering, petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles widely winged, bases auriculate, clasping), blades lanceolate or oblanceolate to oblong, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, (55–)70–200(–220) × 10–40 mm, usually progressively lengthened to mid, bases ± attenuate to cuneate or auriculate and clasping; distal sessile, blades oblanceolate or lanceolate to oblong or elliptic-oblong (sometimes nearly panduriform), 8–160 × 1–40 mm, progressively reduced distally, strongly so and linear in arrays, bases ± strongly auriculate, clasping, margins subentire or entire. |
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Peduncles | subsessile or 2–10(–20) mm, ± pilose, bracts 1–5, linear-lanceolate, pilose, grading into phyllaries. |
0.2–3+ cm, ± hispid or hirsute to villous, bracts 0–3, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate to linear, distal often subtending heads. |
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Involucres | campanulate, 3–5.5 mm. |
campanulate, (6–)8–12(–15) mm. |
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Ray florets | (10–)15–26; corollas usually white, rarely pinkish or light purple to blue, laminae 3.5–5.5(–8) × 0.5–1.5 mm. |
20–50(–60); corollas usually pale to dark blue, lavender or purple, seldom white or pink, laminae (7–)12–18(–21) × (0.9–)1.4–1.8 mm. |
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Disc florets | 12–25; corollas cream or light yellow turning magenta or purple (ampliate), 2.5–4(–4.5) mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes slightly spreading to reflexed, lanceolate, 0.7–1.1 mm. |
30–50 (–90); corollas yellow or cream becoming pink or purple, (4.1–)5–6.5 mm, tubes shorter than cylindro-funnelform limbs, lobes triangular, 0.4–1.1 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in (3–)4–6 series, unequal, appressed or ± spreading, linear-obovate (outer) to oblong-lanceolate to linear (inner), bases indurate 1/3–3/4, margins narrowly scarious to apices, erose, hyaline, ciliate, green zones lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate, mucronulate, faces (outer) sparsely pilose or glabrous (var. glabratum), (inner) glabrous. |
in 4–6 series, oblanceolate-spatulate to linear, subequal, bases indurate 1/5–1/2, margins not scarious (outer) to narrowly scarious, erose, hyaline, sparsely ciliolate, green zones linear-lanceolate, outer sometimes ± foliaceous, to linear (inner), apices ± spreading at tip when foliaceous, long-acuminate to caudate, mucronate to apiculate, sometimes purplish tinged, faces glabrous or ± hispid. |
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Heads | in ample, open, paniculiform arrays, branches ± ascending or divaricate to long-arching, ± secund. |
in open, paniculiform (often corymbiform-looking) arrays, branches widely spreading to ascending, sparsely to moderately leafy with ± large leaves. |
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Cypselae | gray or tan, oblong-obovoid, sometimes ± compressed, 1.2–1.8(–2) mm, 3–5-nerved, faces strigillose; pappi whitish to white, 3–3.5 mm. |
purple or brown (nerves stramineous), oblanceoloid, ± falcate, compressed, (2–)2.5–3.5(–4) mm, 3–4-nerved (nerves prominent), faces glabrous or sparsely strigillose; pappi white, 3.8–6 mm. |
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Symphyotrichum ontarionis |
Symphyotrichum puniceum |
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Distribution |
AL; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NY; OK; PA; SD; TN; TX; VT; WI; ON; QC
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AL; CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; LA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Symphyotrichum ontarionis is often confused with S. lateriflorum, from which it can be distinguished by its shorter disc corolla lobes and abaxial leaf faces either moderately to densely hairy or glabrous to glabrate (var. glabratum), and without hairs along midveins (as is typical of S. lateriflorum). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Symphyotrichum puniceum is one of the widest ranging species in the genus, growing from the edges of the prairies to the Atlantic coast, and from the Gulf coast of Texas to southern Ungava Bay (northern Quebec). Several taxa have been recognized within this variable species. Here, we segregate Symphyotrichum firmum as a distinct entity. The tall, pink-rayed S. elliottii of the outer coastal plains is also distinctive, despite reports of hybrids with S. puniceum var. puniceum where their ranges overlap (see G. L. Nesom 1997b). A recently described member of the complex, S. rhiannon, is an ultramafic endemic from North Carolina. Here, within S. puniceum, we recognize two varieties, the variable and widespread var. puniceum, and var. scabricaule from the inner Gulf coastal plains, following Nesom, who also offered a useful summary of the infraspecific taxonomy of the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 518. | FNA vol. 20, p. 524. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Aster ontarionis, Aster missouriensis | Aster puniceus | ||||||||
Name authority | (Wiegand) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 287. (1995) | (Linnaeus) Á. Löve & D. Löve: Taxon 31: 359. (1982) | ||||||||
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