Eurybia spinulosa
Eurybia paludosa
Apalachicola aster
southern swamp aster
1(–3+), erect, simple, ± villous to glabrescent.
1–10+, erect, often reddish, simple, straight (brittle), proximally glabrous, glabrescent, or sparsely strigillose, distally strigillose or ± villoso-hirsute (at least in arrays).
strongly basal and cauline, linear, firm, ± fleshy, margins indurate, ± revolute, entire to spinose-serrate, smooth to remotely scabridulous or ciliate, spines indurate, finely parallel-veined with evident midribs, apices acute, revolute-indurate, faces glabrescent (minute hairs bulbous at base, threadlike distally);
basal and proximal cauline persistent, sessile or petiolate (narrowing between bases and blades), blades lance-linear to linear, 100–300 × (1–)2–5 mm, bases ± marcescent, sheathing, ciliate;
cauline sessile, blades linear to lance-linear, 20–95 × 3–5 mm, progressively reduced distally, bases rounded- to auriculate-clasping, adaxial faces sparsely villous in distal, the distal subtending heads boat-shaped.
basal and cauline, firm, only midnerves evident, margins indurate, entire or sometimes remotely spinulose-serrate, scabrous, spines indurate, ± pronounced, apices mucronate or indurate, abaxial faces glabrous or scabrous, adaxial sparsely hirtellous, distal often more hairy;
basal and proximalmost cauline withering by flowering, petioles (often marcescent, to 20 mm), bases sheathing, blades elliptic to lanceolate (basal) or linear-lanceolate, ± arcuate (proximal), 15–103 × 5–9 mm, bases cuneate, apices obtuse (basal) to acute;
cauline progressively sessile (petioles more winged) and reduced, blades lanceolate or linear-lanceolate to linear, ± arcuate, 18–132+ × 2–6 mm, margins sometimes revolute, apices acute.
0 (usually) or ascending, 1–17+ mm, sparsely villosulous;
bracts 0–2, ascending, lanceolate, bases not indurate, rounded (boat-shaped), margins ciliate, faces glabrous.
ascending, usually mostly 1–10+ cm (seldom not elongating, sometimes those of young heads appearing short or absent), thin, hirtello-puberulent to villoso-hirsute;
bracts 2–5, often 1–2 subtending heads, sometimes phyllary-like (bases pale, indurate).
campanulate, 6.5–9.7 mm, shorter than pappi.
campanulate, 9–11 mm, much shorter than pappi.
8–17;
laminae pale purple to purplish white, 10–16(–20) × 1–1.8 mm.
15–35;
corollas deep lavender to purple, (10–)15–20 × 1–2.3 mm.
18–30;
corollas yellow, 5.5–7.6 mm, barely ampliate, tubes much shorter than tubular-funnelform throats (1–2 mm), lobes erect, lanceolate, 0.65–1 mm.
25–60;
corollas yellow, 5.5–7 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes much shorter than cylindro-funnelform throats, lobes spreading, lanceolate-acuminate, 0.75–1.1 mm.
20–40 in 4–5 series, green, often ± involute in distal 1/2–2/3 (outer) to 1/3 (inner), densely nerved (nerves not thickened), lanceolate, unequal, coriaceous, bases indurate, rounded (outer), margins entire, indurate (outer) or scarious and often purplish (inner), sparsely ciliate, apices acute to acuminate, indurate, apiculate, adaxial faces glabrous or sparsely villosulous.
40–65+ in 4–5 series, lanceolate or oblong (outer) to linear-oblanceolate or linear (inner), unequal, membranous, bases indurate, rounded (particularly outer), green zones well defined, slightly expanded in distal 1/3–2/3 (foliaceous), reaching margins (outer wholly foliaceous, outermost are bracts subtending heads) to 1/6 or less and not reaching margins or none (inner), margins sometimes distally purplish (particularly inner), indurate, narrowly scarious, erose proximally to nearly completely so (inner), densely ciliate proximally (scarious part) to distally scabrous (foliaceous part), apices loose and often spreading, sometimes squarrose, obtuse to sometimes acute, mucronate, faces sparsely to densely strigillose.
3–16+ in spiciform to narrow, racemiform arrays.
(1–)4–10+ in open, corymbiform arrays, seldom borne singly, with ascending branches.
brown to gray-brown, fusiform, ± compressed, 2–2.5 mm, ribs 7–10, faces ± strigillose;
pappi of burnt-orange (coarse, sometimes apically clavellate) bristles 6–7.5 mm, as long as or slightly longer than disc corollas.
stramineous to tawny, cylindric to narrowly obovoid, slightly compressed, 2.3–3.6 mm, ribs 10–16, sparsely strigillose;
pappi of stramineous (firm, sometimes apically clavellate) bristles 5–6.7 mm, ± equaling disc corollas.
= 36.
Eurybia spinulosa
Eurybia paludosa
Of conservation concern.
Eurybia spinulosa is known only from the Apalachicola River drainage of the Florida panhandle; it is of conservation concern in Florida and is a facultative wetland indicator. Much of its habitat has now been lost to development (R. Kral 1983, vol. 2). Kral published a map of the species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Eurybia paludosa is often confused with E. hemispherica, with which it is closely related. It is present on the Atlantic coastal plain from North Carolina to northeastern Florida. The two species are disjunct geographically and ecologically, even when they occur in the same states. In North Carolina, for instance, E. paludosa is coastal while E. hemispherica is found in the mountains. In northern Florida, the former is found only in Nassau County, while the latter is present only in the western panhandle. Their ranges do not overlap.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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