Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Symphyotrichum urophyllum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Asters.
See herbarium specimens at the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants.
Read more about Symphyotrichum at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum urophyllum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Symphyotrichum urophyllum
(?) Review of the taxonomy of Aster... emphasizing New World species (Nesom, 1994)
Symphyotrichum sagittifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-008:
Aster sagittifolius FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Aster sagittifolius var. sagittifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster sagittifolius
(?) -
Aster cordifolius var. sagittifolius
COMMON NAME:
White Arrowleaf Aster, Arrowleaf Blue Wood Aster
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm180924_4921
September McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
)
JK Marlow jkm180924_4924
September McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Lower stems glabrous; upper stems sparsely hirtellous or pilose, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm180924_4928
September McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
)
JK Marlow jkm180924_4931
September McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Involucral bracts with green band along midrib for nearly their entire length, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of North American asters
)
Sam Pratt sbp_3447
September Spartanburg County SC
)
Sam Pratt sbp_3452
September Spartanburg County SC
Basal leaves shallowly cordate to truncate, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
COMPARE
asters with heart-shaped leaves
)
Sam Pratt sbp_3454
September Spartanburg County SC
Basal leaves long-petiolate, petioles not or narrowly winged, sheathing, per Flora of North America.
)
Sam Pratt sbp_2098
October Spartanburg County SC
Resembles A. cordifolius, but its inflorescence almost without leafiness, per Flora of the southeastern United States (JK Small, 1913).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Symphyotrichum urophyllum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Symphyotrichum urophyllum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Symphyotrichum urophyllum
(?)
Review of the taxonomy of Aster... emphasizing New World species (Nesom, 1994)
Symphyotrichum sagittifolium
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-008:
Aster sagittifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Aster sagittifolius var. sagittifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aster sagittifolius
(?)
-
Aster cordifolius var. sagittifolius
167
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dry forests, fields, and roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate (basal leaves usually absent or withered at flowering)
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: White to pale pink or lilac or light blue
Disc: Whitish to cream becoming reddish-purple
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in dense panicles
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p151
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p454
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p120
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p208
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".