Symphyotrichum tenuifolium |
Symphyotrichum praealtum |
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perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster |
willow aster, willow-leaf American-aster, willowleaf aster |
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Habit | Perennials, (20–)40–60(–100) cm, colonial or cespitose; rhizoma-tous. | Perennials (10–)50–150(–200) cm, colonial; fleshy long-rhizomatous. | ||||
Stems | 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 to ascending (stout, ± glaucous or reddish), glabrate to moderately hispidulous-hirsute (mostly in lines) distally. |
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Leaves | 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. |
thick, firm, margins often revolute, scabrous, apices mucronate, abaxial faces glabrous, vein areoles conspicuous, ± isodiametric, adaxial waxy, glabrate to strigose, ± scabrous (distal cauline with axillary leaf clusters, sometimes becoming branches); basal withering by flowering, petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles winged, bases sheathing, ciliate), blades spatulate, 40–70 × 10–25 mm, bases attenuate, margins entire to shallowly serrate, apices rounded to obtuse; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile (subpetiolate), blades elliptic or lanceolate to oblanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 40–100(–150) × 3–18 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases cuneate, often slightly rounded, apices acute to attenuate, callus-pointed, abaxial faces scabrellous, adaxial glabrous or ± puberulent; distal sessile, blades ovate or elliptic-lanceolate to lanceolate or linear, 10–85 × 2–17 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases cuneate, margins entire, apices acute or obtuse, callus-pointed. |
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Peduncles | 0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries. |
0.3–2 cm, ± pilose, bracts 5–12+, ascending or recurved-spreading, lance-elliptic to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, foliaceous, distal closely subtending heads, not grading into phyllaries. |
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Involucres | narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm. |
campanulate, (4–)5–7(–8) mm. |
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Ray florets | 10–25; corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm. |
(6–)20–35; corollas pale blue-violet to lavender or rose-purple, rarely white, laminae 5–10(–12) × 1–1.7 mm. |
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Disc florets | 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. |
20–30(–35+); corollas cream or light yellow turning pinkish purple, 4–6.5 mm, tubes shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.5–1.3 mm. |
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Phyllaries | 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, appressed, oblong-lanceolate to linear (innermost) (outer sometimes ± foliaceous), unequal, bases indurate 1/2–3/4, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, sparsely ciliolate (often ciliate basally), green zones lanceolate to lance-rhombic, apices sometimes spreading, acute to acuminate, mucronate, often reddish purple apically, faces glabrous. |
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Heads | (1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent. |
in ample, foliaceous, usually dense, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending to spreading, ± racemiform. |
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Cypselae | 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. |
purple or stramineous with purple, obovoid, sometimes ± compressed, 1.5–2 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces thinly strigillose; pappi white, 4–6.5 mm. |
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2n | = 32, 48, 64. |
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Symphyotrichum tenuifolium |
Symphyotrichum praealtum |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Wet, loamy soils, wet prairies or meadows, lake and stream shores, oak savannas, open woods or thickets, fields, moist banks, ditches, roadsides, recent clearings | |||||
Elevation | 0–400+ m (0–1300+ ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; CT; DE; FL; GA; LA; MA; MD; ME; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; RI; SC; TX; VA; West Indies
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AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SD; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Léon) [Introduced in Europe]
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Discussion | 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 praealtum was reported by H. R. Hinds (2000) as a possible introduced, non-persisting ephemeral in New Brunswick. The species is introduced in central Europe, where it has been confused with S. lanceolatum (J. C. Semple et al. 2002). A. G. Jones (1989) reported hybridization with S. lanceolatum and S. firmum. G. L. Nesom (1994b, 1997) and J. C. Semple et al. (2002) recognize several varieties within the species: var. praealtum [syn. Aster coerulescens de Candolle, A. praealtus var. coerulescens (de Candolle) A. G. Jones, A. praealtus var. imbricatior Wiegand] (2n = 32); var. angustior (Wiegand) G. L. Nesom (syn. A. praealtus var. angustior Wiegand) (2n = 64); var. nebraskense (Britton) G. L. Nesom (syn. A. praealtus var. nebraskensis Britton); var. subasperum (Lindley) G. L. Nesom [syn. A. praealtus var. subasper (Lindley) Wiegand, A. subasper Lindley]; and var. texicola (Wiegand) G. L. Nesom (syn. A. praealtus var. texicola Wiegand). Some of these varieties deserve recognition, but the validity of others needs confirmation. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 479. | FNA vol. 20, p. 521. | ||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Astropolium | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Aster tenuifolius | Aster praealtus, Aster salicifolius | ||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 293. (1995) | (Poiret) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 289. (1995) | ||||
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