Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Symphyotrichum racemosum var. subdumosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Asters.
Read how S. racemosum compares to other "small white asters" such as S. dumosum, S. lanceolatum, S. simmondsii, S. pilosum, and S. lateriflorum at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum racemosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symphyotrichum racemosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Symphyotrichum racemosum var. subdumosum
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Symphyotrichum racemosum
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Aster racemosus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Aster vimineus var. subdumosus
COMMON NAME:
Small White Oldfield Aster
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6325
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Cauline lvs acute, tapering to sessile/sometimes clasping base, entire or sparsely serrate, per The Illustrated Flora of Illinois: Asteraceae, Part 1 (Mohlenbrock, 2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6335
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Phyllary green zones oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate, apices acute to acuminate, mucronate, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6336
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Phyllaries in 4-6 series, unequal, appressed or the outer spreading, glabrous, per The Illustrated Flora of Illinois: Asteraceae, Part 1 (Mohlenbrock, 2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6341
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6343
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6350
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Cauline leaves with clusters of smaller leaves in most axils; distal notably unequal in size, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm231028_6469
October Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
Phyllaries with an elongated green tip more than half as long as the phyllary, per The Illustrated Flora of Illinois: Asteraceae, Part 1 (Mohlenbrock, 2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm231028_6704
October Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231028_6706
October Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
Heads in loose racemes or scattered on branch ends, the peduncles mostly 10-20mm long, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm231028_6711
October Spartanburg County SC
Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
Bracts ... are longer than those of S. dumosum and acute to sharply pointed, not blunt to acute, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Symphyotrichum racemosum var. subdumosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum racemosum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symphyotrichum racemosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Symphyotrichum racemosum var. subdumosum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Symphyotrichum racemosum
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Aster racemosus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Aster vimineus var. subdumosus
4650
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate (basal leaves absent or withered at flowering, but new rosettes often present)
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: White to light violet
Disc: Whitish-yellow becoming reddish
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in loose leafy panicles
FRUIT:
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".