FENDLER'S ASTER
File Size: 122 KB
 
Symphyotrichum fendleri   (A. Gray ) G.L. Nesom
[=Aster fendleri A. Gray]
Comanche County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 4-16 inches
Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
Flowering Period:   July, August, September,October
Stems: Erect, several, branching from base, glandular-hairy above, minutely bristly or sometimes nearly smooth below.
Leaves: Alternate, sessile but not clasping, mostly linear, 1/2 to 2 inches long, less than 1/6 inch wide, margins bristle-fringed, tips pointed; uppermost leaves reduced to bracts; tufts of reduced leaves sometimes present in axils of principal leaves.
Inflorescences: Panicle-like, terminal; 3-20 heads per main stem.
Flowers: Involucre 1/5 to 1/3 inch tall, glandular-hairy, bracts loosely overlapping in several series; inner bracts pressed together, outer somewhat spreading; ray florets about 18, bluish-purple, 1/3 to 2/5 inch long; disk florets numerous, yellow to reddish-purple.
Fruits: Achenes, flat, hairy, tipped with yellowish-white bristles that are frequently purplish near base, enclosing small seed.
Habitat: Pastures and breaks; open, rocky sites.
Distribution: West 1/2 of Kansas.
Comments: Fendler's aster is slightly shrubby.

Fendler's aster
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Comanche County, Kansas
Fendler's aster
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Fendler's aster florets
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Comanche County, Kansas
Fendler's aster leaves
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Comanche County, Kansas