Symphyotrichum welshii |
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Welsh's aster |
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Habit | Perennials, 30–100 cm colonial; rhizomes shallow and long, often relatively thick (those of the season each producing a distal rosette near the parent plant). |
Stems | 1–2, ascending to erect (sometimes lax, sometimes reddish), glabrous or sparsely strigoso-villosulous distally (arrays). |
Leaves | (adaxially green, abaxially pale green, sometimes glaucous) thin (proximal) to stiff (distal), margins serrulate (proximal) or entire or nearly so, ± revolute, scabrous, apices mucronulate or sometimes callous-pointed, faces glabrous; basal withering by flowering, petiolate (petioles narrowly winged, sheathing), blades oblanceolate to spatulate, 10–40+ × 4–9+ mm, bases attenuate, margins entire, apices obtuse; proximal cauline withering by flowering, sessile or winged-petiolate, blades lanceolate to oblanceolate, 50–150 × 8–11 mm, bases slightly clasping, margins sparsely serrulate, apices acute; distal sessile, blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 50–130 × 4–6 mm, gradually reduced distally, bases ± clasping, apices acute. |
Peduncles | 0.5–2 cm, scabro-villosulous, bracts linear, scabro-ciliolate. |
Involucres | cylindro-campanulate, 4–7 mm. |
Ray florets | 18–25; corollas pink to white, laminae 9–12 × 0.8–1.5 mm. |
Disc florets | 23–60; corollas pale yellow, 3.8–6.4 mm, tubes shorter than funnelform throats, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.4–0.8 mm. |
Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), ± unequal, bases indurate, margins hyaline, erose, distally scabro-ciliolate to ciliolate, green zones ± foliaceous (outer) or lanceolate, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes purplish, faces glabrous. |
Heads | in open, slender, leafy, paniculiform or racemiform arrays, branches ascending. |
Cypselae | pinkish tan (nerves stramineous), obovoid, ± compressed, 0.8–1.6 mm, 3–5-nerved, faces sparsely strigillose; pappi white, 2.8–5.3 mm. |
2n | = 16. |
Symphyotrichum welshii |
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Phenology | Flowering Aug–Oct. |
Habitat | Wet soils in dry areas, hanging gardens, seeps, wet ledges, stream banks |
Elevation | 1300–2300 m (4300–7500 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; ID; MT; UT; WY |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 523. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Aster welshii |
Name authority | (Cronquist) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 294. (1995) |
Web links |