Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum jessicae
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
Jessica's aster, Palouse aster
1–5+, ascending to erect (often with purple or purplish brown areas, flexuous, wiry), little-branched, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy in lines distally.
1–5+, ascending to erect, densely puberulent to lanate, especially 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.
thickish, margins entire or shallowly crenate, apices acute to ± obtuse, faces densely lanate-puberulent;
basal withering by flowering, petiolate, blades obovate to elliptic, 30–150 × 10–40 mm, bases cuneate to rounded, margins entire, ciliolate, apices acute, faces densely cinereous to lanate;
proximalmost cauline sometimes withering by flowering, subpetiolate or sessile, blades obovate-lanceolate to elliptic, 50–100 × 10–25(–35) mm, bases cuneate, clasping, ± auriculate, apices usually acute;
distal sessile, blades 20–60(–80) × 9–16(–20) mm, bases rounded to auriculate.
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
densely lanate, bracts 1–8, elliptic, margins ciliolate, apices acute, puberulent.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
campanulate, 6–10 mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
18–40;
corollas violet, laminae (8–)12–20 × 1–2(–2.5) 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.
35–80+;
corollas yellow, 6–9 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–1 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 4–6 series, oblanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), unequal, bases scarious (outer sometimes foliaceous), margins slightly scarious, entire, green zones obovate to elliptic, apices acute, faces densely lanate to cinereous.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
in paniculiform, very leafy arrays, branches 4–10(–20) cm.
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.
brown, cylindric to obovoid, not compressed, 3.5–4.5 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces sparsely hairy;
pappi tawny, (6–)7–9 mm.
= 80.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum jessicae
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.)
Of conservation concern.
Symphyotrichum jessicae is known only from the Palouse and Clearwater river drainages of eastern Washington and adjacent northwestern Idaho.
(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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