Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum yukonense
perennial saltmarsh American-aster, perennial saltmarsh aster
Yukon aster
1–5+, ascending to erect (often with purple or purplish brown areas, flexuous, wiry), little-branched, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy in lines distally.
1–8+, erect (purplish to brown, slender), villous, more densely so distally, distally moderately stipitate-glandular.
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.
(yellowish to dark green.
0.6–4 (–6) cm, bracts 2–8, awl-shaped, grading into phyllaries.
± densely short-villous, ± densely stipitate-glandular, bracts 1–3, foliaceous, reduced.
narrowly turbinate, 4.1–9.5(–11) mm.
campanulate, 7–10 mm.
10–25;
corollas white or pink, laminae (4.5–)5–8.5(–9.5) × 1.2–2 mm.
(8–)15–30;
corollas purple to blue, laminae 5–11 × 0.5–2 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.
16–38;
corollas yellow becoming brown, 4–6.5 mm, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.8 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(–5) series, linear-lanceolate, subequal, bases scarious, margins hyaline or purplish, scarious, erose, ciliate or short-stipitate-glandular, green zones herbaceous at least distally, often purplish to purple, apices long-acuminate, spreading to reflexed, faces ± densely villous (outer more so), ± densely stipitate-glandular.
(1–)3–20(–40), in open, diffuse, paniculiform arrays, branches patent.
usually borne singly, sometimes in open, corymbo-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.
brown (sometimes purplish, nerves stramineous), narrowly obovoid, ± compressed, ca. 3 mm, 7–10-nerved, faces sparsely to moderately sericeo-strigose;
pappi sordid (barb tips sometimes purplish-tinged), 3.5–4.8 mm.
purplish, often prominent) thin, reduced distally, margins entire;
basal withering by flowering, winged-petiolate to subpetiolate (petioles ± sheathing), blades narrowly oblanceolate, 8–15 × 1–3 mm, bases attenuate, margins scabrous, apices obtuse to acute, faces glabrous or glabrate;
proximal cauline often withering by flowering, sessile or subsessile, blades linear-oblanceolate, 20–70 × 1–4 mm, bases ± clasping, margins ciliate, apices acute, abaxial faces glabrous or midnerve ± sparsely villous, adaxial glabrous or sparsely villous, midnerves ± villous;
distal sessile, blades linear-lanceolate, 10–30 × 1–2.5 mm, bases ± subclasping, ± rounded to subauriculate, margins sometimes stipitate-glandular, apices acute, mucronate or white-spinulose, faces glabrous or sparsely villous, short-stipitate-glandular.
= 10.
Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
Symphyotrichum yukonense
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 yukonense is distributed disjunctly on the John River in the southern Brooks Range (Alaska), Lake Kluane (Yukon), and the Mackenzie Mountains and middle Mackenzie River (Northwest Territories). It appears closely related to S. pygmaeum.
(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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