Symphyotrichum plumosum |
Symphyotrichum georgianum |
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Georgia aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 40–100 cm, cespitose, eglandular; with cormoid, woody caudices. | Perennials, 50–100 cm, colonial; rhizomatous, woody. |
Stems | 5–10+, erect or arching (light to dark brown), proximally sparsely to moderately finely woolly-pilose (hairs spreading to ascending), more densely so distally. |
1–5+, erect, straight (± stout, light to dark brown), proximally sparsely to moderately short-strigose, distally densely so, stipitate-glandular. |
Leaves | (grayish) soft; basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades (1–3-nerved) elliptic-lanceolate, 20–40 × 10–20 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, piloso-ciliate, apices acute to obtuse, faces silvery piloso-silky; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 20–30 × 4–8 mm, bases rounded, subclasping, margins entire, scabrous to silky-piloso-ciliate, apices acute to obtuse, cuspidate-mucronate, faces moderately strigillose; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 8–15 × 2.5–5 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, mucronate, faces moderately, finely lanoso-strigose. |
(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. |
Peduncles | densely hairy, bracts linear, grading into phyllaries. |
densely short-strigose, ± densely short-stipitate-glandular, bracts 1–8+, spreading to reflexed, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, strigillose, stipitate-glandular, grading into phyllaries. |
Involucres | campanulate, 7–9 mm. |
campanulate to hemispheric, 8–10 mm. |
Ray florets | 7–12; corollas rose-purple, laminae 6–9 × 1–2 mm. |
12–24; corollas lavender violet to dark reddish purple, laminae 14–24 × 1.5–3.5 mm. |
Disc florets | 14–20; corollas pink turning purple, 5–6 mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats (thinly puberulent), lobes triangular, 0.3–0.5 mm. |
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). |
Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, spreading to reflexed, linear, unequal, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins scarious proximally, green distally, green zones foliaceous, apices acute, faces moderately woolly-strigose. |
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. |
Heads | radiate, in narrow, paniculiform (wand-shaped) to sometimes compact, racemiform arrays (1(–3) per branch). |
in narrow, racemiform to ± broad, paniculiform arrays, sometimes borne singly on branches, branches initially patent then ascending, leafy. |
Cypselae | fusiform-obovoid, not compressed, 2–3 mm, 6–8-nerved, faces densely strigose; pappi tan to yellowish tan, (5.5–)6.5–8 mm. |
gray-brown, narrowly obovoid, compressed, 2.5–4 mm, 7–10-nerved, faces sparsely strigose; pappi tan to tawny, 9–11 mm. |
2n | = 8. |
= 50. |
Symphyotrichum plumosum |
Symphyotrichum georgianum |
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Phenology | Flowering Oct–Nov. | Flowering Oct–Nov. |
Habitat | Deep, dry to moist, sandy soils, pine flatwoods, pine-scrub oak woods, favored by fires and clearcuts | Sandy and clay soils, oak-pine woodlands, road embankments (mostly Piedmont) |
Elevation | 0–40 m (0–100 ft) | 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) |
Distribution |
FL |
AL; FL; GA; NC; SC |
Discussion | Symphyotrichum plumosum is known only from Franklin County. It differs from S. concolor var. concolor in its long-acuminate, recurved to reflexed phyllaries. No intermediates with S. concolor were seen in the field. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 493. | FNA vol. 20, p. 490. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster plumosus, S. concolor var. plumosum | Aster georgianus, Aster patens var. georgianus, Virgulus georgianus, Virgulus patens var. georgianus |
Name authority | (Small) Semple: in J. C. Semple et al., Cult. Native Asters Ontario, 134. (2002) | (Alexander) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 282. (1995) |
Web links |