Symphyotrichum ontarionis |
Symphyotrichum welshii |
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aster du lac Ontario, bottomland aster, Ontario American-aster, Ontario aster |
Welsh's aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 20–120 cm, colonial; long-rhizomatous. | Perennials, 30–100 cm colonial; rhizomes shallow and long, often relatively thick (those of the season each producing a distal rosette near the parent plant). | ||||
Stems | 1–(2–3), ascending to erect (straight), proximally glabrate, distally uniformly villous or hirsute, or glabrous (var. glabratum). |
1–2, ascending to erect (sometimes lax, sometimes reddish), glabrous or sparsely strigoso-villosulous distally (arrays). |
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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. |
(adaxially green, abaxially pale green, sometimes glaucous) thin (proximal) to stiff (distal), margins serrulate (proximal) or entire or nearly so, ± revolute, scabrous, apices mucronulate or sometimes callous-pointed, faces glabrous; basal withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles narrowly winged, sheathing), blades oblanceolate to spatulate, 10–40+ × 4–9+ mm, bases attenuate, margins entire, apices obtuse; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile or winged-petiolate, blades lanceolate to oblanceolate, 50–150 × 8–11 mm, bases slightly clasping, margins sparsely serrulate, apices acute; distal sessile, blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 50–130 × 4–6 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases ± clasping, apices acute. |
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Peduncles | subsessile or 2–10(–20) mm, ± pilose, bracts 1–5, linear-lanceolate, pilose, grading into phyllaries. |
0.5–2 cm, scabro-villosulous, bracts linear, scabro-ciliolate. |
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Involucres | campanulate, 3–5.5 mm. |
cylindro-campanulate, 4–7 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. |
18–25; corollas pink to white, laminae 9–12 × 0.8–1.5 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. |
23–60; corollas pale yellow, 3.8–6.4 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.4–0.8 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 3–4 series, lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), ± unequal, bases indurate, margins hyaline, erose, distally scabro-ciliolate to ciliolate, green zones ± foliaceous (outer) or lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes purplish, faces glabrous. |
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Heads | in ample, open, paniculiform arrays, branches ± ascending or divaricate to long-arching, ± secund. |
in open, slender, leafy, paniculiform or racemiform arrays, branches ascending. |
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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. |
pinkish tan (nerves stramineous), obovoid, ± compressed, 0.8–1.6 mm, 3–5-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose; pappi white, 2.8–5.3 mm. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Symphyotrichum ontarionis |
Symphyotrichum welshii |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Wet soils in dry areas, hanging gardens, seeps, wet ledges, stream banks | |||||
Elevation | 1300–2300 m (4300–7500 ft) | |||||
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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AZ; ID; MT; UT; WY |
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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.) |
Of conservation concern. (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. 523. | ||||
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 welshii | ||||
Name authority | (Wiegand) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 287. (1995) | (Cronquist) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 294. (1995) | ||||
Web links |