smooth blue aster
(Symphyotrichum laeve var. laeve)
Conservation • Wetland • Description • Habitat • Biology • Use • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | N5 - Secure SNR - Unranked |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Wetland Indicator Status |
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| Great Plains | FACU - Facultative upland |
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| Midwest | FACU - Facultative upland |
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| Northcentral & Northeast | FACU - Facultative upland |
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Description |
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The stem is smooth and hairless or nearly hairless, often reddish, and often covered with a whitish, waxy bloom (glaucous). Lower stem leaves are on winged petioles and the base of the blade is never heart-shaped. Middle stem leaves clasp the stem at the base and are less than 5 times as long as wide. Upper stem leaves are stalkless. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are smooth and hairless or nearly hairless. They sometimes have a grayish or bluish tint. The bracts of the involucre (phyllaries) have a long, green, diamond-shaped tip. The flower head has 15 to 30 lavender, light blue, or purple ray florets. The tuft of feathery hairs at the tip of the achene (pappus) is usually light brown, often reddish. |
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Height |
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12″ to 36″ |
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Flower Color |
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Blue to purple |
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Similar Species |
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Geyer’s aster (Symphyotrichum laeve var. geyeri) green tips of the phyllaries are lance-shaped, not diamond-shaped. |
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Habitat |
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Dry to moderate moisture. Prairies, woods. Full to partial sun. |
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Biology |
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Flowering |
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August to October |
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Use |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 1/31/2014 | ||||
Nativity |
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Native |
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Occurrence |
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Common |
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Taxonomy |
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| Kingdom | Plantae (green algae and land plants) | ||
| Subkingdom | Viridiplantae (green plants) | ||
| Infrakingdom | Streptophyta (land plants and green algae) | ||
| Superdivision | Embryophyta (land plants) | ||
| Division | Tracheophyta (vascular plants) | ||
| Subdivision | Spermatophytina (seed plants) | ||
| Class | Magnoliopsida (flowering plants) | ||
| Superorder | Asteranae | ||
Order |
Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies) | ||
Family |
Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, asters, and allies) | ||
| Subfamily | Asteroideae | ||
| Supertribe | Asterodae | ||
| Tribe | Astereae (asters and allies) | ||
| Genus | Symphyotrichum (American asters) | ||
| Subgenus | Symphyotrichum | ||
| Section | Symphyotrichum | ||
| Species | Symphyotrichum laeve (smooth blue aster) | ||
This and other asters were formerly place in the genus Aster. That genus was problematic, in that it did not include just one common ancestor with all of its lineal descendants and no others – it was not monophyletic. In 1994, the genus Symphyotrichum was resurrected to include most North American asters formerly in the genus Aster. |
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Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Aster falcidens Aster laevis Aster laevis var. falcatus Aster steeleorum |
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Common Names |
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smooth aster smooth blue aster |
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Glossary
Bract
Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.
Clasping
Describing a leaf that wholly or partly surrounds the stem but does not fuse at the base.
Glaucous
Pale green or bluish gray due to a whitish, powdery or waxy film, as on a plum or a grape.
Involucre
A whorl of bracts beneath or surrounding a flower or flower cluster.
Pappus
The modified calyx composed of awns, scales, bristles, or feather-like hairs in plants of the Asteraceae family.
Phyllary
An individual bract within the involucre of a plant in the Asteraceae family.
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| Gregg Rutter | |||
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Inflorescence |
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Flower Heads |
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| Gregg Rutter 10/10/2020 |
Location: Mille Lacs Moraine SNA |
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