Spreading aster

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Spreading aster

Spreading aster inflorescence

Spreading aster florets

Spreading aster leaves

Spreading aster

Spreading aster flowering head

Spreading aster leaves

Spreading aster florets

Spreading aster

Spreading aster leaves

Spreading aster

Spreading aster

Morphology

Stem

Erect to ascending, 1-5, slender, brittle, moderately to densely pubescent; branches few to several, above mid-point of stem.

Leaves

Alternate, relatively few; basal leaves absent at flowering; middle and upper stem leaves lanceolate to lance-oblong, 4/5 to 2.8 inches long, 2/5 to 1.6 inch wide, grayish-green, thick, often stiff; surfaces rough, more so on underside; margins entire to minutely-toothed; base with auricles, sessile, conspicuously clasping; tip pointed; upper stem leaves widely separated, progressively reduced, narrowly to broadly ovate; margins entire; much reduced on branches.

Inflorescence

Open, branching, panicle-like clusters or solitary heads terminating long branches, 1-5 per branch, showy, 4/5 to 1.4 inch across; stalks slender, 4/5 to 6 inches long, with several to many small leaf-liike bracts; involucre bell-shaped, 1/4 to 2/5 inch tall; involcural bracts linear, 1/25 to 1/5 inch long, in 4-8 series, overlapping; tips green or purplish, pointed; bases tan; green portion diamond-shaped; ray florets 15-30, 2/5 to 3/5 inch long, blue or pale lavender, rarely white or pinkish; disk florets 20-50; corollas yellow, cream or white, turing purple.

Fruit

Achene, egg-shaped, 1/12 to 1/8 inch long, purplish or brown, short silky-hairy, 7-10 longitudinal ribs, tipped with off-white to cream or tan bristles, 1/6 to 1/5 inch long, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Rocky, dry, open deciduous woods, roadsides, old fields, fence rows; dry, rocky or sandy soils.

Distribution

Southeast 1/4 of Kansas.

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.