SILKY ASTER
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File Size: 80 KB |
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Symphyotrichum sericeum (Vent. ) G.L. Nesom
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[=Aster sericeus Vent.] |
McPheson County, Kansas |
Perennial |
Height: 1-2 feet |
Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family |
Flowering Period: August, September,October |
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Also Called: | | Western silvery aster. | Stems: | | More or less erect, clustered, wiry, brittle, much-branched, reddish-brown, glabrous below and thinly silky-hairy above. | Leaves: | | Lower leaves stalked, oblanceolate, shed early; upper leaves persistent, alternate, simple, sessile, elliptic to oblong, .5 to 1.5 inch long, less than .5 inch wide, silvery-white silky pubescent; margins entire. | Inflorescences: | | Branching clusters of numerous heads; heads 1.5 inches wide; bracts equal or nearly overlapping, tips loose or spreading. | Flowers: | | Ray florets 14-20, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, purple-violet or sometimes pinkish; disk florets yellowish brown to rose. | Fruits: | | Achenes, small, smooth, tipped with white bristles, enclosing small seed. | Habitat: | | Dry, open, upland sites or occasionally open woods, most abundant in limestone soils. | Distribution: | | East half of Kansas. | Comments: | | The plant derives its common name from the silky hairs covering the leaves. | | | It is often found with aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). |
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Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster4.jpg) | 101 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster leaves | ![](thumbnails/silkyasterleaf.jpg) | 79 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster.jpg) | 75 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster6.jpg) | 81 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster9.jpg) | 90 KB | Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster11.jpg) | 59 KB | McPherson County, Kansas |
| Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster12.jpg) | 71 KB | McPherson County, Kansas |
| Silky aster inflorescence | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster66.jpg) | 120 KB | Ellsworth County, Kansas |
| Silky aster florets | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster15.jpg) | 119 KB | Cowley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster habit | ![](thumbnails/silkyaster16.jpg) | 129 KB | Cowley County, Kansas |
| Silky aster | ![](thumbnails/Symphyotrichum_sericeum2.jpg) | 261 KB | Ellsworth County, Kansas |
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