The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

aster de Tradescant, shore aster, Tradescant's American-aster, Tradescant's aster

prairie aster, smooth violet prairie aster, turbinate aster

Habit Perennials, 5–70 cm, cespitose; short-rhizomatous. Perennials, 30–100 cm, cespitose; with thick, branched, woody caudices.
Stems

1–5+, ascending to erect (straight, slender, 1–2.5(–3) mm diam.), glabrous.

1–5+, erect, straight (stout, brittle), glabrous or sparsely hirtellous in lines.

Leaves

thin, margins scabrous to scabrellous or eciliate, apices mucronulate, faces glabrous;

basal persistent or withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles slightly winged, sheathing), blades spatulate to elliptic or oblanceolate, 10–40 × 5–11 mm, bases cuneate to attenuate, margins crenate-serrate, apices obtuse to acute;

proximal cauline persistent or withering by flowering, ± broadly winged-petiolate or sessile, blades oblong, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate to oblanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, 20–100 × 3–9 mm, bases attenuate to cuneate, slightly clasping, margins serrulate or entire;

distal sessile, blades oblanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear, 10–60 × 1–7 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases cuneate to tapering, margins serrulate or entire, apices acute to acuminate.

(paler green or bluish green abaxially) firm, margins scabrous, apices mucronate, faces glabrous, abaxial raised midribs scabrous to glabrate;

basal withering by flowering, subpetiolate to shortly petiolate (petioles winged, sheathing, coarsely ciliate), blades oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, 45–65 × 5–8 mm, bases cuneate, margins shallowly crenate, strigoso-ciliate, apices acute, obtuse or rounded;

proximal cauline withering by flowering, subpetiolate or sessile, blades elliptic-lanceolate to linear-oblanceolate or -lanceolate, 40–120 × 5–20 mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate to slightly attenuate or rounded, slightly clasping, margins serrulate-crenate or entire, apices acute to acuminate;

distal sessile, blades oblanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong, (10–)15–100 × 1–5 mm, gradually reduced distally (more strongly so on branches), bases cuneate or rounded, margins entire, apices acuminate.

Peduncles

ascending, 0.2–2.5+ cm, glabrous, bracts 1–4, subulate to linear.

long, thin, (1–)4–10(–25) cm, branches to 10 cm, bracts 8–15, regularly spaced but becoming crowded distally, appressed or ascending, linear-oblong to subulate, 1.5–4 mm, grading into phyllaries, mucronulate.

Involucres

cylindro-campanulate, 3.3–4.5(–5) mm.

turbinate to cylindro-campanulate, 7–12 mm.

Ray florets

14–27;

corollas white, laminae 4.3–8.2 × 0.7–0.8 mm.

14–20;

corollas light blue to lavender or purple, laminae 12–20 × (1–)1.5–2.8 mm.

Disc florets

20–30;

corollas pale yellow becoming purplish, 3–4.1 mm, tubes shorter to nearly equaling funnelform throats, lobes lanceolate, 0.5–1 mm.

15–20+;

corollas yellow turning purple, (4.5–)5–7 mm, tubes slightly shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes triangular, 0.5–1 mm.

Phyllaries

in 4–5 series oblong-lancoelate (outer) to linear-lanceolate (inner) or linear (innermost), unequal, bases indurate 1/2+, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, ciliolate, green zones lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate or caudate, mucronulate or apiculate, sometimes purplish, faces glabous.

in 6–9 series, appressed or ± spreading, shortly oblong-lanceolate to subulate (outer) to linear-oblong or linear (inner), strongly unequal, bases indurate 1/2–5/6, abaxially rounded, margins scarious, erose, hyaline, sparsely ciliolate distally, green zones oblanceolate to rhombic-oblanceolate, in distal 1/6–1/2, apices acute (outer) to obtuse or rounded (inner), often callous-mucronulate, faces glabrous.

Heads

{(10–)25–100} in paniculiform arrays, branches ascending (1–10 heads per branch).

in open, broad, much ramified, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending to arching, thin, brittle, remotely leafy, rarely sessile.

Cypselae

tan (nerves stramineous), obovoid, ± compressed, 3.5–4 mm, 4–5-nerved, faces strigillose;

pappi white, 3–3.6 mm.

yellow-tan or light brown to gray, obovoid, ± compressed, (1.8–)2–2.8 mm, 2–4-nerved, faces minutely strigillose;

pappi whitish to reddish brown, 4.5–6.4 mm.

2n

= 16, 32.

= 96.

Symphyotrichum tradescantii

Symphyotrichum turbinellum

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug(–Sept). Flowering Aug–Oct.
Habitat Damp, rocky and gravelly shores, silt- or loam-filled cracks in rocky rapids of streams or along freshwater estuaries Open, dry, acidic (chert, sandstone, or granite), rocky or loamy soils, woods and glades on upland slopes and ridges in soils associated with or on leached soils above bluffs, pastures, roadsides
Elevation 0–200+ m (0–700+ ft) 60–900 m (200–3000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
MA; ME; NH; NJ; NY; RI; VT; NB; NF; NS; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; IA; IL; KS; LA; MO; NE; OK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Symphyotrichum turbinellum is mostly Ozarkian.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 20, p. 516. FNA vol. 20, p. 530.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum
Sibling taxa
S. adnatum, S. anomalum, S. anticostense, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chapmanii, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ciliolatum, S. concolor, S. cordifolium, S. cusickii, S. defoliatum, S. depauperatum, S. drummondii, S. dumosum, S. elliottii, S. ericoides, S. eulae, S. falcatum, S. fendleri, S. firmum, S. foliaceum, S. fontinale, S. frondosum, S. georgianum, S. grandiflorum, S. greatae, S. hallii, S. hendersonii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. lateriflorum, S. laurentianum, S. lentum, S. molle, S. nahanniense, S. novae-angliae, S. novi-belgii, S. oblongifolium, S. ontarionis, S. oolentangiense, S. parviceps, S. patens, S. phlogifolium, S. pilosum, S. plumosum, S. porteri, S. potosinum, S. praealtum, S. pratense, S. prenanthoides, S. priceae, S. puniceum, S. pygmaeum, S. racemosum, S. retroflexum, S. rhiannon, S. robynsianum, S. sericeum, S. shortii, S. simmondsii, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum, S. subulatum, S. tenuifolium, S. turbinellum, S. undulatum, S. urophyllum, S. walteri, S. welshii, S. yukonense, S. ×amethystinum
S. adnatum, S. anomalum, S. anticostense, S. ascendens, S. boreale, S. bracteolatum, S. campestre, S. chapmanii, S. chilense, S. ciliatum, S. ciliolatum, S. concolor, S. cordifolium, S. cusickii, S. defoliatum, S. depauperatum, S. drummondii, S. dumosum, S. elliottii, S. ericoides, S. eulae, S. falcatum, S. fendleri, S. firmum, S. foliaceum, S. fontinale, S. frondosum, S. georgianum, S. grandiflorum, S. greatae, S. hallii, S. hendersonii, S. jessicae, S. laeve, S. lanceolatum, S. lateriflorum, S. laurentianum, S. lentum, S. molle, S. nahanniense, S. novae-angliae, S. novi-belgii, S. oblongifolium, S. ontarionis, S. oolentangiense, S. parviceps, S. patens, S. phlogifolium, S. pilosum, S. plumosum, S. porteri, S. potosinum, S. praealtum, S. pratense, S. prenanthoides, S. priceae, S. puniceum, S. pygmaeum, S. racemosum, S. retroflexum, S. rhiannon, S. robynsianum, S. sericeum, S. shortii, S. simmondsii, S. spathulatum, S. subspicatum, S. subulatum, S. tenuifolium, S. tradescantii, S. undulatum, S. urophyllum, S. walteri, S. welshii, S. yukonense, S. ×amethystinum
Synonyms Aster tradescantii Aster turbinellus
Name authority (Linnaeus) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 293. (1995) (Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 293. (1995)
Web links