Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum shortii
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
Short'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.
1–5+, ascending to erect (straight, sometimes stout), proximally glabrous, distally ± densely hirtellous.
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.
thin, margins often slightly revolute, scabrous, apices mucronate or mucronulate, abaxial faces sparsely to moderately hispid, especially along veins, adaxial glabrous (midveins scabrous, veins marked) to strigoso-hispid (basal);
basal withering by flowering (new winter rosette sometimes developing), petiolate (petioles 1–2 times as long as blades, sometimes narrowly winged, sheathing, densely pilose or hirsute), blades ovate to lance-ovate, 10–60 × 10–35 mm, deeply to shallowly cordate or rounded, margins crenate or crenate-serrate, apices obtuse to acute;
proximal cauline mostly persistent, narrowly petiolate (petioles slender, progressively reduced distally, bases at most slightly clasping), blades ovate to lanceolate, 50–150 × 20–60(–70) mm, progressively reduced distally, bases shallowly cordate to subcordate, truncate, or rounded, sometimes oblique, margins entire, scabrous or shallowly crenate-serrate (proximal), apices acute to acuminate;
distal short-petiolate (petioles sometimes narrowly winged, sometimes slightly clasping) or sessile (distalmost, rameal), blades ovate to lanceolate (rameal lance-linear to linear, sharply smaller), 8–80 × 1–40 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases rounded to cuneate or attenuate, margins entire to subentire, apices acute to acuminate.
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
0.2–3(–5) cm, densely hirtellous, bracts 3–10+, ovate or lanceolate to subulate, grading into phyllaries.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
cylindro-campanulate, 4–6 mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
13–15(–20);
corollas usually blue or purple-blue, seldom pinkish or white, laminae (10–)11–16 × 1.3–3.1 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.
16–23(–28?);
corollas light yellow becoming reddish purple, 4.6–7 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.4–1.1 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 4–5(–6) series, appressed, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate (outer) to linear-lanceolate or linear (inner), strongly unequal, bases indurate 1/2–5/6, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, ciliolate, green zones lanceolate to diamond-shaped (midveins below green zone sometimes inflated and brownish), apices acute to acuminate, often involute, mucronulate, faces strigilloso-hirsutulous.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
usually in open, diffuse to narrow, paniculiform arrays, sometimes racemiform, branches widely spreading, usually divaricate to arching, sometimes ascending, sometimes ± secund, abundantly 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.
dull purple or brown, oblong-obovoid, compressed, 2.5–3.7 mm, 4–7-nerved, faces glabrous;
pappi reddish brown, tawny, or rose-tinged, 4–6.2 mm.
= 16, 32.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum shortii
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 shortii is of conservation concern along the whole periphery of its range, notably in Canada; there is a report from the District of Columbia but the species is not established there. Aster shortii Lindley forma gronemannii Benke is a roseate phenotype, and forma candidus Benke a white one, forma shortii being the normal blue or purple one. They are not recognized here.
(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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