Symphyotrichum lanceolatum - (image 1 of 4)
Taxonomy
Family: Asteraceae
Habitat
Moist to mesic open areas.
Associates
Distribution
Nova Scotia to NC, west to ND and TX.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial, colonial by long rhizomes; stems 60-150 cm, pubescent in lines above; leaves all cauline, lanceolate to lance-elliptic to linear, serrate or sometimes entire, glabrous to scabrous above, sessile or tapering to a petiole-like base, sometimes somewhat clasping but scarcely auriculate; main leaves mostly not strongly reticulate, areolae if visible irregular and longer than wide; heads numerous in an elongate leafy inflorescence; involucres 3-6 mm; involucral bracts glabrous except for ciliolate margins, narrow, sharply acute to acutish, strongly imbricate, with elongate, usually appressed green tip; rays 10-20, white or sometimes lavender or blue, 4.5-12 mm; lobes of the disk corollas comprising 30-45% of the limb.
Notes
Flowers August to October
Wetland Indicator: FACW
A very common and highly variable species. I have been confused by pale blue-flowered forms on more than one occasion.
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 2018 |