Taxonomy
Family: Asteraceae
Habitat
Woods.
Associates
Distribution
Newfoundland, Quebec, and southern Ontario south to NJ, NY, and PA and in mountains to northern GA.
Morphology
Perennial 20-80 cm, spreading via creeping rhizomes. Leaves all cauline, tightly grouped beneath the inflorescence producing the appearance of a whorl, thin, glabrous to slightly scabrous above, elliptic to obovate, acuminate, few teeth, sessile or short petiolate. Flower heads several in an branched corymbiform inflorescence; rays 10-20, white to pinkish, 10-15 mm.
Notes
Flowers September to October
Wetland Indicator: NA
I photographed some of these plants in early October and the petals were looking a bit spent. Quite an unusual aster, which might explain why some authors refer to this species as Oclemena acuminata (Michx.) Greene. Possibly extirpated from OH.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
© Michael Hough 2004 |