Symphyotrichum simmondsii |
Symphyotrichum ciliolatum |
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Simmonds' aster |
aster ciliolé, fringe blue aster, Lindley's American-aster, Lindley's aster, Lindley's or fringe blue aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 10–120 cm, colonial (sometimes extensively); long-rhizomatous. | Perennials, (10–)20–120 cm, colonial or cespitose; usually long-rhizomatous, sometimes with branched caudices. |
Stems | 1–3+, erect (straight, rigid, sometimes stout), sparsely scabrellous or glabrescent to glabrate or glabrous. |
1–3+, erect (straight to ± flexuous), glabrate to sparsely hirsute or strigillose, especially distally. |
Leaves | 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. |
thin, margins coarsely, sharply serrate to crenate-serrate or serrulate, ciliate to scabrous, apices acute or acuminate, mucronulate, abaxial faces glabrate to sparsely hirsute, midveins usually densely hirsute, sometimes glabrous, adaxial glabrous or glabrate to scabrellous; basal usually withering by flowering (sometimes persistent on small plants), long-petiolate (petioles slightly winged, sheathing, ciliate), blades ovate, (24–)40–120(–270) × 15–70 mm, bases usually shallowly cordate, sometimes rounded; proximal cauline often withering by flowering, winged-petiolate, blades ovate to oblanceolate or lanceolate, (24–)60–150 × (10–)20–60 mm, reduced distally, bases subcordate to cuneate; distal sessile or sometimes subsessile (petioles widely-winged), blades lance-ovate to linear-lanceolate or linear, 18–75 × (2–)5–25 mm, bases cuneate, sometimes ± clasping, margins serrulate or entire. |
Peduncles | 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. |
0.2–1.5+ cm, unequal, reduced distally, ± hirsutulous, bracts 0–4, subulate or linear. |
Involucres | campanulate to campanulo-turbinate, (4.5–)6–8 mm. |
campanulate, (4–)5–6.5 mm. |
Ray florets | 18–38; corollas pale lilac or lavender to pale purple, laminae 9–11 × 0.9–1.7 mm. |
(12–)14–20; corollas pale to deep blue or bluish purple, laminae (8.3–)10–15 × 1–2.3 mm. |
Disc florets | 24–37; corollas yellow becoming reddish, 4.5–7 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.9–1 mm. |
14–25(–29); corollas yellow becoming reddish purple, 4.3–6.4 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.5–1.1 mm. |
Phyllaries | 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. |
in 4–5 series, narrowly oblong-lanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate or linear-oblanceolate (innermost), ± unequal, bases indurate 1/3–2/3, margins narrowly scarious, erose, hyaline or infrequently purplish, sparsely ciliolate, green zones lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear, apices acuminate to long-acuminate, faces glabrous. |
Heads | 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. |
[(6–)13–50(–100+)] in open, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending. |
Cypselae | tan, oblong-obovoid to fusiform-obovoid, compressed, 2–2.6 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces ± strigillose; pappi cream, 4.6–6.5 mm. |
yellowish white, obovoid, compressed, 1–2 mm, 5–6-nerved, faces glabrate to sparsely strigillose; pappi white to pinkish, 3–6 mm. |
2n | = 64. |
= 48. |
Symphyotrichum simmondsii |
Symphyotrichum ciliolatum |
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Phenology | Flowering Oct–Jan. | Flowering late Jul–Oct. |
Habitat | Moist or dry soils | Rich, open, often ± calcareous, boreal deciduous forests (aspen or aspen-birch-fir-spruce), edges of woods, clearings, aspen or bur oak thickets, sometimes open pine forests, streambanks, trails, roadsides |
Elevation | 0–50 m (0–200 ft) | 0–2000+ m (0–6600+ ft) |
Distribution |
FL; NC; SC
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IL; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NH; NY; SD; VT; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
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Discussion | 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.) |
Symphyotrichum ciliolatum sporadically hybridizes with S. laeve var. laeve or var. geyeri in their areas of overlap, notably across the Canadian prairies and in south-central Ontario (Manitoulin Island, Bruce Peninsula). It also hybridizes with S. novi-belgii var. novi-belgii in the Gulf of St. Lawrence area [Symphyotrichum ×subgeminatum (Fernald) G. L. Nesom; syn. Aster subgeminatus (Fernald) B. Boivin]. Aster ciliolatus forma comatus Fernald is densely ciliolate along the midnerves and represents an extreme of the variation found in the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 514. | FNA vol. 20, p. 502. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster simmondsii | Aster ciliolatus, Aster ciliolatus var. comatus, Aster lindleyanus, Aster wilsonii |
Name authority | (Small) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 291. (1995) | (Lindley) Á. Löve & D. Löve: Taxon 31: 359. (1982) |
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