Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum concolor
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
eastern silver American-aster, eastern silver aster, eastern silvery aster
1–5+, ascending to erect (often with purple or purplish brown areas, flexuous, wiry), little-branched, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy in lines distally.
1–10+, ascending to erect (light to dark brown), glabrous or densely canescent distally.
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.
(green to graysih) soft to firm;
basal withering by flowering, sessile, blades (1–3-nerved) elliptic-lanceolate, 10–43 × 5–15 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually entire, rarely remotely serrate, piloso-ciliate, apices acute to obtuse, faces silvery silky-pilose to sparsely pilose;
proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate, 20–35 × 5–15 mm, bases rounded, subclasping, margins entire, scabrous to silky-pilose, apices acute to obtuse, cuspidate mucronate, faces ± densely silky;
distal sessile, blades usually oblong to lanceolate, rarely ovate, 9–15 × 1.8–5 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute, mucronate, faces ± densely silky or sparsely strigose, sometimes glabrate (var. devestitum).
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
densely hairy, bracts becoming linear, grading into phyllaries.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
campanulate to narrowly campanulate, 5–7 mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
8–12;
corollas rose-purple, rarely white, laminae 4–9 × 1–1.5 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.
(9–)11–17(–21);
corollas pink turning purple, 4.5–6 mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats (thinly puberulent), lobes triangular, 0.4–0.7 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 3–5 series, appressed, lanceolate-oblong, strongly unequal, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins scarious proximally, green distally, green zones restricted to apex, obscured by hair, apices usually acute, sometimes acuminate, usually mucronate, sometimes subspinulose, faces ± densely silky.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
in narrow, paniculiform (virgate) arrays (1–3(–5) per branch).
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.
obovoid, not compressed, 2.5–3.5 mm, 7–10-nerved, faces densely strigose;
pappi tan, (3.5–)4–6 mm.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum concolor
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.)
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(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 |
1. Distal cauline leaves and phyllaries moderately to densely silky; e United States | var. concolor |
1. Distal cauline leaves and phyllaries glabrous or sparsely hispido-pilose; panhandle Florida | var. devestitum |
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