Symphyotrichum turbinellum |
Symphyotrichum walteri |
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prairie aster, smooth violet prairie aster, turbinate aster |
Walter's aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 30–100 cm, cespitose; with thick, branched, woody caudices. | Perennials, 20–100 cm, colonial or cespitose, eglandular, sometimes sparsely, minutely stipitate-glandular; long-rhizomatous, with erect, thick, ± cormoid, woody caudices. |
Stems | 1–5+, erect, straight (stout, brittle), glabrous or sparsely hirtellous in lines. |
1–5+, erect to scandent-sprawling (mid to dark brown, branched from middle), glabrous or very sparsely fine strigose. |
Leaves | (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. |
(bright green) thick, firm, ± succulent, margins entire; basal early deciduous, sessile, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate to obovate, 10–43 × 7–15 mm, bases cuneate, margins scabrous, apices obtuse, mucronate, faces sparsely finely scabrous; proximal cauline sessile (patent to reflexed), blades ovate to lanceolate, 8–30 × 2–10 mm, bases cordate-clasping, apices acute, sometimes spinulose, faces finely scabrous, shiny; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to triangular, 5–15 × 2.5–3.5 mm, reduced to bracts distally, bases clasping, margins finely scabrous, apices acute, white-spinulose, faces finely scabrous. |
Peduncles | 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. |
glabrous, bracts relatively numerous, tiny, foliaceous, becoming minute, linear, glabrous. |
Involucres | turbinate to cylindro-campanulate, 7–12 mm. |
campanulate, 5–7 mm. |
Ray florets | 14–20; corollas light blue to lavender or purple, laminae 12–20 × (1–)1.5–2.8 mm. |
11–26; corollas bluish purple, laminae 5–9(–11) × 0.5–1 mm. |
Disc florets | 15–20+; corollas yellow turning purple, (4.5–)5–7 mm, tubes slightly shorter than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes triangular, 0.5–1 mm. |
(6–)15–25(–30); corollas yellow, 4–6.5 mm, throats narrowly funnelform, lobes triangular, 0.4–0.8 mm. |
Phyllaries | 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. |
in 4–5 series, oblanceolate, strongly unequal, bases (tan) ± indurate, margins hyaline, finely scabrous, green zones diamond-shaped, in distal 1/4–1/2, apices obtuse, mucronate to finely subspinulose, innermost acuminate, faces sparsely strigillose (often obscured by thick, shiny cuticle). |
Heads | in open, broad, much ramified, paniculiform arrays, branches ascending to arching, thin, brittle, remotely leafy, rarely sessile. |
borne singly in diffusely paniculiform arrays, branches initially patent to divaricate, elongate. |
Cypselae | 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. |
tan to brown, obovoid, not compressed, 2–2.5 mm, nerves very faint, faces sparsely to moderately strigose; pappi tan, 4–6 mm. |
2n | = 96. |
= 20. |
Symphyotrichum turbinellum |
Symphyotrichum walteri |
|
Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. | Flowering Oct–Dec. |
Habitat | 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 | Sandy, clayey soils, margins of woods, open oak-pine scrub, pine flatwoods, fields, roadsides |
Elevation | 60–900 m (200–3000 ft) | 0–100+ m (0–300+ ft) |
Distribution |
AR; IA; IL; KS; LA; MO; NE; OK
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FL; GA; NC; SC
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Discussion | Symphyotrichum turbinellum is mostly Ozarkian. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 530. | FNA vol. 20, p. 492. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Symphyotrichum > sect. Symphyotrichum | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Symphyotrichum > subg. Virgulus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Aster turbinellus | Aster walteri, Lasallea walteri, Virgulus walteri |
Name authority | (Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 293. (1995) | (Alexander) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 294. (1995) |
Web links |