Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Asters.
Read more about Symphyotrichum at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-020:
Aster puniceus FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Aster puniceus var. puniceus
(?) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster conduplicatus
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster puniceus
COMMON NAME:
Purplestem Aster, Swamp Aster
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_aspu5_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm130114_152
January Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
)
JK Marlow jkm130225_356
February Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
)
JK Marlow jkm160502_054
May Jackson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm130927_544
September Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm130927_553
September Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm140913_702
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm140913_705
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Stems densely pubescent, usually purplish, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm150912_114
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1580b
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm240905_0867
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm240905_0869
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Gill Newberry gn10_a_puniceus_habitat
October
)
JK Marlow jkm121024_692
October Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
Leaves lanceolate, auriculate-clasping, usually toothed, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm121024_693
October Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
)
JK Marlow jkm231001_5734
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm231001_5735
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm231001_5760
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Involucres hemispheric to campanulate; bracts green, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm231001_5760b
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm231012_5998
October Greenville County SC
Numerous light blue or lavender rays; disk flowers pale yellow or red, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm231012_6001
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm231012_6004
October Greenville County SC
Phyllaries in 4-6 series, green zones linear-lanceolate, per Flora of North America.
COMPARE
involucral bracts of North American asters
)
JK Marlow jkm231012_6008
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm111106_240
November Jackson County NC
A tall handsome plant thriving in moist habitats, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm111106_263
November Jackson County NC
Stems purplish, with spreading hairs, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-020:
Aster puniceus
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Aster puniceus var. puniceus
(?)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster conduplicatus
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster puniceus
166
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: bogs, seeps, ditches, wet meadows, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain, rare in GA Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate (basal leaves absent or withered at flowering)
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Blue-violet
Disc: Yellow or cream becoming reddish-purple
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in loose leafy panicles
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Brown
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p406
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p479
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p456
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p439
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p113
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p122
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p277
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p326
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p210
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".