Symphyotrichum dumosum

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Symphyotrichum dumosum
Symphyotrichum dumosum IWF.jpg
Photo by John Hilty hosted at IllinoisWildflowers.info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Symphyotrichum
Species: S. dumosum
Binomial name
Symphyotrichum dumosum
(L.) G.L. Nesom
SYMP DUMO DIST.JPG
Natural range of Symphyotrichum dumosum from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Name(s): long-stalked aster;[1] rice button aster[2]

Taxonomic Notes

Synonyms: Aster dumosus; A. dumosus var. coridifolius (Michaux) Torrey & A. Gray; A. coridifolius Michaux; Aster dumosus Linnaeus var. pergracile Wiegand; A. dumosus Linnaeus var. strictior Torrey & A. Gray; Aster dumosus Linnaeus var. subulifolius Torrey & A. Gray.[3]

Varieties: Symphyotrichum dumosum (Linnaeus) Nesom var. gracilipes (Wiegand) Nesom; Symphyotrichum dumosum (Linnaeus) Nesom var. pergracile (Wiegand) Nesom; Symphyotrichum dumosum (Linnaeus) Nesom var. strictior (Torrey & A. Gray) Nesom; Symphyotrichum dumosum (Linnaeus) Nesom var. subulifolium (Torrey & A. Gray) Nesom.[4]

Description

Symphyotrichum dumosum is a dioecious perennial forb/herb.[2] The plant is stiff with leafy branches possessing numerous flower heads. Flowers consist of white to pale lavender rays with a yellow to brown central disk.[5][6] Rays are 3-5 mm long, 0.9-1.2 mm wide, and numbered between 8-15 per flower. Its roots are creeping, branching, short, stout, and herbaceous[6] averaging a maximum depth of 17.00 cm and having a mean root porosity of 54.5%.[7]

Distribution

S. dumosum occurs from New Brunswick and Maine, south to Florida, and westward to Texas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, Canada.[2]

Ecology

Habitat

S. dumosum can be found in old fields, disturbed areas, pastures, woodlands, glades.[1] While widely found in the southern extent of its range, it is restricted to shorelines in the northern portion of its range.[5] In clayhill longleaf woodlands of the Florida panhandle, S. dumosum occurred in 93% of plots and had a mean coverage of 0.0109 m-2. Upper panhandle savannas had the same mean coverage but a higher frequency (100%) of S. dumosum, while panhandle seepage savannas had a 100% frequency but 0.0035 m-2 mean coverage.[8] When exposed to soil disturbance by military training in West Georgia, S. dumosum responds negatively by way of absence.[9]

Symphyotrichum dumosum var. dumosum is frequent and abundant in the Clayhill Longleaf Woodlands, Upper Panhandle Savannas, and Panhandle Seepage Savannas community types as described in Carr et al. (2010).[10]

Phenology

Flowering occurs in late August through October,[1] although reports of flowering exist for several months throughout the year.[11]

Seed dispersal

This species is thought to be dispersed by wind. [12]

Fire ecology

Symphyotrichum dumosum persists in frequently burned (1-5 year fire interval) upland longleaf pine communities.[13]. However, in a 47 year unburned Florida area (NB66), it increased from zero to 31% relative frequency in 1 m2 plots.[14], suggesting tolerance of shade and fire exclusion.

Pollination

This species is known to attract several species of native bees.[5]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Weakley AS (2015) Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 USDA NRCS (2016) The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 12 January 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draf of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  4. Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draf of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Plant database: Symphyotrichum dumosum. (12 January 2018) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SYDU2
  6. 6.0 6.1 Chmielewski JG, Semple JC (2001) The biology of Canadian weeds. 113. Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (Willd.) Nesom [Aster lanceolatus Willd.] and S. lateriflorum (L.) Love & Love [Aster lateriflorus (L.) Britt.]. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 81:829-849.
  7. Brewer JS, Baker DJ, Nero AS, Patterson AL, Roberts RS, Turner LM (2011) Carnivory in plants as a beneficial trait in wetlands. Aquatic Botany 94:62-70.
  8. Carr SC, Robertson KM, Peet RK (2010) A vegetation classification of fire-dependent pinelands of Florida. Castanea 75(2):153-189.
  9. Dale, V.H., S.C. Beyeler, and B. Jackson. (2002). Understory vegetation indicators of anthropogenic disturbance in longleaf pine forests at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. Ecological Indicators 1(3):155-170.
  10. Carr, S.C., K.M. Robertson, and R.K. Peet. 2010. A vegetation classification of fire-dependent pinelands of Florida. Castanea 75:153-189.
  11. Nelson, G. PanFlora: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ Accessed: 12 JAN 2018
  12. Kirkman, L. Katherine. Unpublished database of seed dispersal mode of plants found in Coastal Plain longleaf pine-grasslands of the Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.
  13. Robertson, K.M. 2017. Pebble Hill Fire Plots unpublished data. Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, Tallahasse, FL.
  14. Clewell AF (2014) Forest development 44 years after fire exclusion in formerly annually burned oldfield pine woodland, Florida. Castanea 79(3):147-167.