Symphyotrichum subspicatum |
Symphyotrichum plumosum |
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Douglas' aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 40–120 cm, colonial; long-rhizomatous. | Perennials, 40–100 cm, cespitose, eglandular; with cormoid, woody caudices. |
Stems | 1–5+, ascending to erect, proximally glabrous, distally usually glabrous or sparsely puberulent, rarely densely hirsute. |
5–10+, erect or arching (light to dark brown), proximally sparsely to moderately finely woolly-pilose (hairs spreading to ascending), more densely so distally. |
Leaves | thin, margins entire or often serrate, apices acute, faces glabrous or sparsely puberulent; basal withering by flowering, petiolate to subpetiolate, blades oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic or linear, 50–150 × 3–25 mm, bases attenuate, margins entire or sometimes serrate, apices acute; proximalmost cauline withering by flowering, subpetiolate or sessile, blades obovate or oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, rarely linear, 50–150 × 4–35 mm, bases attenuate or cuneate; distal sessile, blades 30–100(–130) × 3–15(–30) mm, bases cuneate, rounded or sometimes ± auriculate, margins sometimes serrate, scabrous. |
(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. |
Peduncles | sparsely hairy, bracts 1–10, lance-oblong to linear, sometimes clasping, margins scabrous. |
densely hairy, bracts linear, grading into phyllaries. |
Involucres | campanulate, 5–8(–10) mm. |
campanulate, 7–9 mm. |
Ray florets | 15–45; corollas violet, laminae 10–16(–20) × (1–)1.5–2.5 mm. |
7–12; corollas rose-purple, laminae 6–9 × 1–2 mm. |
Disc florets | 50–75; corollas yellow becoming reddish, 4–7 mm, lobes triangular, 0.5–1 mm, glabrous. |
14–20; corollas pink turning purple, 5–6 mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats (thinly puberulent), lobes triangular, 0.3–0.5 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 4–6 series, appressed or squarrose, oblong or narrowly oblanceolate or linear (outer) to linear (inner), unequal to subequal (outer shorter than or equal to inner, often less than 3 times as long as wide), bases outer indurate less than 1/2 (some foliaceous), inner scarious, margins entire, sometimes ciliate, green zones obovate to elliptic, apices acute to obtuse, faces usually glabrous, rarely sparsely puberulent. |
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. |
Heads | in open, corymbiform, paniculiform, or racemiform arrays, branches 5–30 cm. |
radiate, in narrow, paniculiform (wand-shaped) to sometimes compact, racemiform arrays (1(–3) per branch). |
Cypselae | brown or purplish, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 2–4 mm, 3–6-nerved, faces hairy; pappi whitish to tawny or reddish, 4.5–8 mm. |
fusiform-obovoid, not compressed, 2–3 mm, 6–8-nerved, faces densely strigose; pappi tan to yellowish tan, (5.5–)6.5–8 mm. |
2n | = 48, 64, 80, 96. |
= 8. |
Symphyotrichum subspicatum |
Symphyotrichum plumosum |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Sep. | Flowering Oct–Nov. |
Habitat | Marshes, thickets, weedy meadows, open disturbed habitats | Deep, dry to moist, sandy soils, pine flatwoods, pine-scrub oak woods, favored by fires and clearcuts |
Elevation | 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft) | 0–40 m (0–100 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
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FL |
Discussion | Symphyotrichum subspicatum is a weedy, highly polyploid species, probably of allopolyploid derivation from different combinations of species including S. chilense, S. bracteolatum, S. foliaceum, S. laeve, and S. spathulatum. Hybrids with S. hallii are known from western Oregon. The species passes into S. foliaceum in southeastern Alaska. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 537. | FNA vol. 20, p. 493. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Occidentales | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster subspicatus, Aster butleri, Aster maccallae, Aster subspicatus var. grayi | Aster plumosus, S. concolor var. plumosum |
Name authority | (Nees) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 293. (1995) | (Small) Semple: in J. C. Semple et al., Cult. Native Asters Ontario, 134. (2002) |
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