Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum adnatum
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
scaleleaf aster
1–5+, ascending to erect (often with purple or purplish brown areas, flexuous, wiry), little-branched, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy in lines distally.
5+, erect to scandent-sprawling (brown, branched from middle), moderately to densely finely hairy.
thick (fleshy), margins entire, faces glabrous;
basal withering by flowering (new winter rosettes appearing at flowering), petiolate (petioles sheathing), blades ovate or oblanceolate, 15–20 × 5–15 mm, bases cuneate, apices rounded;
proximal cauline withering by flowering, usually sessile, blades lanceolate, linear-lanceolate or -oblanceolate, to linear, 7–80(–150) × 1–6 (–12) mm, bases attenuate, margins entire, apices acuminate to acute;
distal sessile, blades narrowly lanceolate to subulate, 10–110 × 0.5–5 mm, apices acuminate.
(yellowish green) thick, firm, margins entire;
basal early deciduous, sessile or subpetiolate, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate to obovate, 10–43 × 7–15 mm, bases cuneate, margins scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, faces sparsely finely scabrous;
proximal cauline sessile, blades narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, 20–35 × 5–13 mm, bases auriculate-clasping, margins finely scabrous, apices acute to obtuse, faces finely scabrous, shiny;
distal sessile, blades lanceolate to linear, 3–10 × 1–4 mm, gradually reduced to bracts distally, bases subclasping and adnate to stem for 1/2+ length, apices narrowly acute, white-spinulose, faces finely scabrous, viscid, minutely stipitate-glandular.
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
densely short-strigose, glandular, bracts linear, adnate, densely short-strigose.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
campanulate, 4–6.5 mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
10–20;
corollas light to dark lavender, laminae 5–8 × 0.5–1.5 mm.
25–45(–54);
corollas yellow becoming purplish, 3.4–6(–6.8) mm, tubes shorter than to equaling the narrowly funnelform throats (sparsely hairy at base), lobes ± erect, narrowly triangular, 0.5–0.8 mm.
12–25;
corollas yellow, 3.7–7 mm, throats narrowly funnelform, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.8 mm.
in 4–5 series, lanceolate to subulate, bases indurate, rounded, margins hyaline, often tinged with purple, entire, green zones spatulate to oblanceolate-rhombic, apices acute, adaxial faces glabrous or minutely hairy distally.
in 4–5 series, oblong to oblanceolate, strongly unequal, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins hyaline, finely scabrous, green zones lenticular, in distal 1/4–2/5, apices obtuse, mucronate to finely subspinulose, faces scabrellous-puberulent, stipitate-glandular.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
in ± open, paniculiform arrays, branches initially patent then ascending or divaricate.
light brown, narrowly obovoid to fusiform, sometimes ± compressed, 1.5–4(–4.5) mm, 5–6-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose;
pappi tawny to white, 3–6.1 mm.
tan to brown, obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, 6–10-nerved (faint), faces sparsely strigose;
pappi tan, 3.75–8 mm.
= 20.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum adnatum
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Along the Gulf of Mexico Coast in central and northern peninsular Florida, vars. tenuifolium and aphyllum intergrade in nearly all characters (S. D. Sundberg 2004). G. L. Nesom (2005d) treated the varieties as species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems 1, rhizomes long; mid leaves (1.5–)3–6 mm wide; involucres 6–9.5(–11) mm; ray florets (12–)17–25; disc florets 25–45(–54), corollas (4–)4.7–6(–6.5) mm; cypselae 2.8–4(–4.5) mm; pappi 5–6.1 mm | var. tenuifolium |
1. Stems 1–5+ (clustered), rhizomes short; mid leaves (1–)1.5–2.7 mm wide; involucres 4.1–5.3 mm; ray florets 10–16; disc florets (10–)13–23, corollas 3.4–4.6 mm; cypselae 1.5–2(–2.5) mm; pappi 3–4.4 mm | var. aphyllum |
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