PANICLED ASTER
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Symphyotrichum lanceolatum   (Willd. ) G.L. Nesom
[=Aster simplex Willd.]
Morris County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 2-6 feet
Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
Flowering Period:   August, September,October
Also Called: Tall white aster.
Stems: Erect, stout, 1 to several, branched above, lines of hairs extending downward from upper nodes.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, mostly sessile, linear to lanceolate, 3 to 6 inches long, to 1.5 inch wide, thin, usually glabrous; margins toothed or sometimes entire; tips pointed; lower leaves often absent at flowering; upper leaves reduced.
Inflorescences: Panicle-like clusters, elongate, leafy; heads numerous, terminal, about 3/4 inch wide.
Flowers: Bracts narrowly linear-lanceolate, overlapping; margins whitish; tips green; ray florets 25-35, about 1/4 inch long, white or rarely pinkish lavender; disk florets yellow, becoming reddish purple with age.
Fruits: Achenes, tiny, hairy, tipped with numerous white hair-like bristles, enclosing small seed.
Habitat: Moist or damp prairies, meadows, low areas, and roadsides.
Distribution: East 4/5 of Kansas.
Comments: Panicled aster often forms colonies via rhizomes.

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