Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum rhiannon
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
Rhiannon aster, Rhiannon's 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), hirsute to hispido-hirsute, hirsutulous 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.
margins shallowly crenate to serrate-crenate, abaxial faces strigillose, adaxial scabrous;
basal withering by flowering, petiolate, petioles winged, clasping to subclasping, shallowly auriculate, blades subspatulate or oblanceolate-elliptic, 30–70 × 10–15 mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, apices acute;
proximal cauline withering by flowering, widely winged-petiolate, blades oblanceolate-elliptic, 50–110 × 8–22 mm, bases attenuate, apices acute;
distal subsessile, blades oblong-lanceolate, 10–30 × 4–6(–8) mm.
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
0.5–1.5(–3) cm, bracts foliaceous.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
turbino-campanulate, 6–11 wide mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
18–32;
corollas blue to lavender, laminae 6–9 × 0.8–1.4 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.
[number unknown];
corollas yellow, at least lobes becoming purple, (4–)4.5–5.5 mm, tubes shorter than cylindro-funnelform limbs, lobes triangular, 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 3–4 series, slightly unequal, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, bases indurate 1/2–2/3, margins not scarious, irregularly ciliolate, green zones rhombic-lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate, faces glabrous or distally strigoso-puberulent.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
in broad, cylindro-paniculiform arrays, branches ascending.
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 often purplish, oblong to oblanceoloid, ± compressed, 2.6–3 mm, 4–6-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose;
pappi white, [length unknown] mm.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum rhiannon
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 rhiannon is known only from a southern Appalachian high-elevation outcrop barren around Buck Creek, southern Nantahala Mountains, Clay County.
(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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