Symphyotrichum pygmaeum |
Symphyotrichum pratense |
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pygmy aster |
barrens silky aster |
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Habit | Perennials 1.5–15 cm, cespitose; with short, branched caudices, long-rhizomatous (both wiry). | Perennials, 40–60 cm, cespitose, eglandular; with cormoid, woody caudices. |
Stems | 1–10+, decumbent to ascending (purple), sparsely or densely villous to woolly distally. |
5–10+, ascending to erect (brown), glabrous or sparsely strigose distally. |
Leaves | firm, margins usually entire, sometimes remotely pauci-serrulate, sparsely villoso-ciliate, apices obtuse to acute, sometimes mucronate; basal often withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles widely winged, sheathing), blades spatulate, 5–19 × 2–4 mm, bases attenuate, apices rounded, faces glabrous or sparsely villous proximally; proximal sessile, blades lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or (sometimes) -spatulate, 30–50 × 3–10 mm, bases ± clasping, apices obtuse to acute, faces glabrous or sparsely villous; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to oblong, 13–19 × 2–4.5 mm, bases clasping to cuneate, apices acute to obtuse, faces sparsely woolly, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular. |
(grayish green) firm, margins entire; 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 piloso-scabrous; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 20–30 × 5–13 mm, reduced distally, bases rounded, subclasping, margins entire, scrabrous, apices acute to obtuse, cuspidate-mucronate, faces glabrous or moderately strigose or ± scabrous; distal sessile, blades oblong-lanceolate, 15–25 × 4–6 mm, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, white-spinulose, faces glabrate to moderately strigose or ± scabrous. |
Peduncles | densely villous to lanate distally, bracts 0. |
glabrous or sparsely strigose, bracts oblong-lanceolate, grading into phyllaries. |
Involucres | hemispherico-campanulate, 9–12.5 mm. |
narrowly campanulate, 6–11 mm. |
Ray florets | 16–28; corollas purple to violet, laminae 12–18 × 2–3.2 mm. |
13–15(–36); corollas rose-purple, laminae 8–13 × 1–2 mm. |
Disc florets | 53–55; corollas yellow, 5.6–6.5 mm, throats funnelform, lobes triangular, 0.5–0.8 mm (red or white clavate-hairy). |
16–34(–48); corollas pink turning purple, 4.5–7.5 mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats (sometimes thinly puberulent), lobes triangular, 8–13 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 3–4 series (dark purple), lance-oblong or oblong (outer) to linear-lanceolate or sometimes linear (inner), subequal, outer ± herbaceous, bases not indurate, margins herbaceous (outer) to narrowly scarious and erose proximally (inner), strongly purple, villoso-ciliate in green portion, green zones (inner) 1/2–2/3 of distal portions, apices acute to acuminate, inner sometimes apiculate, appressed to loose and squarrose (particularly outer), faces woolly to densely villous, sparsely to moderately stipitate-glandular. |
in 3–4 series, outer broadly lanceolate, flaring distally, inner linear-lanceolate, subequal, outer foliceous, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins long-piloso-ciliate, green zones foliaceous (outer), apices sometimes purplish, acute (outer) to acuminate (inner), faces glabrous or sparsely short-pilose. |
Heads | borne singly. |
in open, paniculiform arrays (1–5+ per branch). |
Cypselae | fusiform to cylindro-obconic, ± compressed, [size unknown], 4–7-nerved (faint), faces ± densely strigillose; pappi whitish to yellowish, 5–7.2 mm. |
tan to light brown, obovoid, not compressed, ± 3 mm, 5–8-nerved, faces glabrous; pappi tan, 3.5–6 mm. |
2n | = 10, 20. |
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Symphyotrichum pygmaeum |
Symphyotrichum pratense |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering Oct–Nov. |
Habitat | Open, active, moist sand dunes, sandy or silty stream banks and terraces, usually cyclically disturbed gravelly tundra and tundra slopes | Prairies, oak woodlands, pine-oak scrub, fields, roadsides |
Elevation | 0–200+ m (0–700+ ft) | 0–500 m (0–1600 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; NT; NU |
AL; AR; FL; GA; KY; LA; MS; TN; TX; VA
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Discussion | Of conservation concern. Symphyotrichum pygmaeum has long been included within or associated with Eurybia sibirica. Though similar in appearance, the two species can be distinguished by the glands present on S. pygmaeum on the distal leaves and phyllaries. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 485. | FNA vol. 20, p. 493. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster pygmaeus, Aster sibiricus subsp. pygmaeus, Aster sibiricus var. pygmaeus, Eurybia pygmaea | Aster pratensis, Aster phyllolepis, Aster sericeus var. microphyllus, S. sericeum var. microphyllum, Virgulus pratensis |
Name authority | (Lindley) Brouillet & S. Selliah: Sida 21: 1635. (2005) | (Rafinesque) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 290. (1995) |
Web links |