Southern prairie aster

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Southern prairie aster leaf

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster bracts

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster bracts

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster

Southern prairie aster

Morphology

Stem

Erect or ascending, usually solitary, unbranched below inflorescence, glabrous or short-hairy below heads.

Leaves

Alternate, stiff, leathery, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 1 to 4.2 inches long, mostly 1/6 to 1/4 inch wide, glabrous, midrib conspicuous; upper surface shiny; margins entire or sometimes remotely toothed; tip sharply pointed; lower stem leaves often absent by flowering; upper leaves progressively reduced, sessile.

Inflorescence

Cluster, raceme-like, elongate, heads mostly 3-8, occasionally only solitary; involucre bell-shaped or hemispherical, 2/5 to 1/2 inch tall; bracts narrowly lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, glabrous, in 4-6 unequal to nearly equal series; tips sharply pointed, green, loosely ascending to spreading or recurved; margins minutely rough or short-hairy, pale yellow or purplish.

Flower

Ray florets 15-35, ligules 2/5 to 1 inch long, purple to bluish-purple; disk florets 40-95, corollas about 1/4 inch long, yellow, turning reddish purple or brownish purple.

Fruit

Achene, cylindrical to narrowly oblong, sometimes slightly flattened, ribbed, short-hairy to occasionally glabrous; tipped with numerous finely barbed light tan or reddish bristles, 1/5 to 1/3 inch long; enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Upland prairies, roadsides, pastures, railroads, open damp or drying sites; sandy soils.

Distribution

Southeast 1/6 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Sometimes cultivated as an ornamental.

Additional Notes

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.