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showy aster, showy wood-aster, western showy aster

rockcastle aster

Habit Plants 30–100 cm; forming loose clones, short-stipitate-glandular; rhizomes long to short, woody. Plants 40–120 cm; in clones; rhizomes elongate, strong.
Stems

1, erect, seldom branched proximally, stout, proximally glabrate to villous and sparsely glandular (sometimes to base), distally glabrate, strongly glandular.

1, erect, strict (slightly flexuous distally), simple, glabrous, distally ± villosulous (arrays).

Leaves

cauline, thick, ample, bases clasping, margins ± revolute, sharply serrate (rarely subentire) with ± mucronate teeth, veins prominent, apices acute to acuminate, mucronate, faces scabrous, adaxial veins villous;

proximal cauline deciduous by flowering, winged-subpetiolate to sessile, blades oblanceolate to ovate or obovate, smaller than mid, bases tapering;

mid usually sessile, sometimes subsessile, obovate or elliptic, (40–)58–140(–180) × (8–)20–50(–80) mm, bases cuneate to mostly rounded-subauriculate;

distal (in arrays) sessile, ovate to oblanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic, (8–)10–60(–90) × 2–28(–40) mm, strongly reduced distally.

cauline;

proximal withering by flowering, narrowly winged-petiolate, blades broadly oblanceolate or elliptic to obovate, smaller than mid;

mid and distal winged-petiolate (5–30 mm), broadly elliptic to oblanceolate, (70–)90–140 × 40–50(–60) mm, reduced distally, bases cuneate, with 4–5 pairs of marked veins, margins coarsely serrate (teeth 1–4 mm), slightly revolute, scabrous, apices acuminate;

abaxial faces glabrescent, adaxial sparsely pilose, mainly on veins.

Peduncles

sometimes sparsely hairy, stipitate-glandular;

bracts usually 0, sometimes 1–3.

sparsely pilose;

bracts 0–1, foliaceous, remotely serrulate.

Involucres

campanulate, 9–12 mm, shorter than pappi.

campanulate, 7–11 mm, shorter than pappi.

Ray florets

12–35;

corollas blue or violet, (8–)10–15 × 1.2–2 mm.

10–30;

corollas pale white to pale blue, 10–15 × 1.5–2 mm.

Disc florets

48–55;

corollas yellow, 9–10 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes narrowly cylindric, slightly longer than narrowly funnelform throats, lobes erect, lanceolate, 0.7–1.3 mm.

10–20;

corollas yellow turning pinkish, ca. 4.5–5 mm, tubes longer than funnelform throats, lobes spreading, triangular, ca. 1.5 mm.

Phyllaries

34–55 in 4–5 series, midnerves translucent, strongly unequal, membranous, bases indurate, dark green distally, margins densely ciliate, apices spreading or ± squarrose, purple (mucro), acute or acuminate (sometimes mucronate), faces glabrous, densely stipitate-glandular;

outer ovate or lanceolate;

inner oblong-lanceolate, margins hyaline, often purplish distally, scarious.

32–36 in 4–5 series, broadly oblong, strongly unequal, scarious, dark green zones wide, from 1/2 distally, margins hyaline, narrow, erose, densely ciliate, apices appressed or often slightly squarrose, obtuse to subacute, faces glabrous, eglandular.

Heads

5–50 in open corymbiform arrays.

1–10, borne singly or in corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

tan, fusiform, ± compressed, 3–4 mm, ribs 8–10, appressed-setose;

pappi of cinnamon to pinkish bristles 9–10 mm, about as long as disc corollas.

tan, fusiform, cylindric, 5–6 mm, ribs 7–11, stramineous, faces ± strigose;

pappi of pale stramineous (clavate) bristles 5–7 mm, shorter than to ± equaling disc corollas.

2n

= ca. 108, ca. 122.

= 54.

Eurybia conspicua

Eurybia saxicastelli

Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat Open, mesic conifer (spruce-fir, pine, or aspen-conifer) or aspen woods, from foothills to upper montane zone, mesic to dry meadows, forest openings, in somewhat clayey soils, adapted to spring fires Back edge of spring-flooded, summer-dry, sandstone boulder–cobble river bars with shrubby vegetation
Elevation 300–2500 m (1000–8200 ft) (600–)1000–1500 m ((2000–)3300–4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; SD; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
KY; TN
Discussion

Eurybia conspicua is a western boreo-montane taxon; it ranges from the Interior Mountains and Plateaus to the Rocky Mountains, and spreads onto the northern Great Plains in the aspen parklands-southern boreal forests of Canada, barely into western Manitoba. It is disjunct to the Black Hills (South Dakota) and Cypress Hills (Alberta-Saskatchewan). It stops at the Canadian Shield due to soil preferences (A. J. Breitung 1988). This taxon has the highest chromosome number in the genus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Of conservation concern.

Eurybia saxicastelli is known only from the Rockcastle River of Kentucky (J. J. N. Campbell and M. E. Medley 1989) and Tennessee.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 20, p. 368. FNA vol. 20, p. 372.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eurybia Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Eurybia
Sibling taxa
E. avita, E. chlorolepis, E. compacta, E. divaricata, E. eryngiifolia, E. furcata, E. hemispherica, E. integrifolia, E. jonesiae, E. macrophylla, E. merita, E. mirabilis, E. paludosa, E. radula, E. radulina, E. saxicastelli, E. schreberi, E. sibirica, E. spectabilis, E. spinulosa, E. surculosa, E. ×herveyi
E. avita, E. chlorolepis, E. compacta, E. conspicua, E. divaricata, E. eryngiifolia, E. furcata, E. hemispherica, E. integrifolia, E. jonesiae, E. macrophylla, E. merita, E. mirabilis, E. paludosa, E. radula, E. radulina, E. schreberi, E. sibirica, E. spectabilis, E. spinulosa, E. surculosa, E. ×herveyi
Synonyms Aster conspicuus Aster saxicastelli
Name authority (Lindley) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 259. (1995) (J. J. N. Campbell & Medley) G. L. Nesom: Phytologia 77: 261. (1995)
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