Symphyotrichum prenanthoides - (image 1 of 4)
Taxonomy
Family: Asteraceae
Habitat
Moist woods, meadows, floodplains.
Associates
Distribution
NY to MN, south to DC, KY, IA, and in mountains to NC and TN.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial from creeping rhizomes; stems 20-100 cm, often crooked, pubescent in lines becoming glabrate toward the base and uniformly pubescent below the heads; leaves mainly cauline, the blade ovate or lanceolate, serrate, acuminate, abruptly contracted to a relatively long, entire, broadly winged and strongly auriculate-clasping petiolar base; heads in an open, sparely leafy-bracteate inflorescence; involucre glabrous, 5-7 mm; involucral bracts acute to somewhat obtuse, not much imbricate, loose, often with spreading tip, the outer bracts sometimes wholly herbaceous; rays 20-35, blue to pale purple, rarely white, 7-15 mm.
Notes
Flowers August to October
Wetland Indicator: FAC
The unique shape of the leaves makes this species pretty easy to identify even when not in flower. The way the leaves clasp the stem is similar to S. undulatum but that species has some cordate lower leaf blades.
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
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© Michael Hough 2018 |