Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum elliottii
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
Elliott's aster, marsh American-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, erect (straight, stout, sometimes purplish pink), mostly glabrous, hirsutulous in arrays, mainly in lines.
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.
firm, margins serrate to serrulate, scabridulous, apices acute to shortly acuminate, apiculate to mucronate, abaxial faces glabrous, adaxial scabridulous;
basal withering by flowering, long-petiolate (petioles narrowly winged, sheathing), blades elliptic, 50–250 × 10–50 mm, bases attenuate;
proximal cauline withering by flowering, long-petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles winged, bases expanded, sheathing), blades elliptic to lanceolate or oblanceolate, gradually reduced distally, 70–110 × 15–35 mm, bases attenuate;
distal subpetiolate or sessile, (petioles broadly winged, bases sheathing to clasping), blades elliptic, 10–70 × 1–30 mm, progressively reduced distally, more strongly so on branches, bases attenuate to cuneate, clasping, margins serrulate or entire.
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
0.5–2.5 cm, to erect, hirsute, bracts 3–5, linear, grading into phyllaries.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
narrowly campanulate, 8–11 mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
(25–)30–46+;
corollas pink or sometimes lavender, laminae 7–14 × 0.8–1.6 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.
25–35+;
corollas pale yellow becoming pink and later brown, 6–6.2 mm, tubes slightly shorter than narrowly funnelform limbs, lobes narrowly triangular to lanceolate, 0.8–1 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 5–6 series, linear-lanceolate or -oblanceolate to linear, slightly unequal, bases indurate 1/3–1/2, margins narrowly scarious, hyaline, sparsely and remotely ciliolate, green zones lanceolate to linear, outer distally foliaceous, sometimes constricted in middle, apices spreading to squarrose, long-acuminate, apiculate, faces glabrous.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
in paniculiform arrays, branches strongly ascending, leafy.
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 pale brown, oblanceoloid, compressed, 2–2.7 mm, 3–4-nerved, faces glabrous or sparsely hairy;
pappi sordid or whitish, 5.5–5.8 mm.
= 16.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum elliottii
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.)
Symphyotrichum elliottii grows on the Atlantic coastal plain. It is of conservation concern in some states.
(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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