Ionactis stenomeres (A. Gray) Greene
Rocky Mountain aster
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Rocky Mountain aster
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a fibrous-rooted, branched, woody stem-base; stems ascending to erect, simple, long-hairy, 13-30 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves few, soon deciduous; stem leaves reduced below, the others uniform except for the reduced uppermost ones, linear with spiny tips, 1.5-4.0 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, unstalked, short, appressed-hairy, entire.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary; involucres 8-13 mm tall; involucral bracts graduated, linear to lance-linear, with long-pointed tips, fine appressed-hairy with a greenish or sometimes purplish midline and more or less papery margin; ray flowers 13, sometimes more, violet, 10-20 mm long; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes several-nerved, with stalked glands and fine hairs; pappus straw-colored, double, the outer bristles as much as 1 mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Ionactis stenomeres
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1617 | 1008 | 2179 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 0 | 37 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
166 | 70 | 229 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
10 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
ESSF(6), IDF(2), MS(1), PP(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry gravelly or rocky slopes in the steppe and montane zones; infrequent in SE BC; S to MT, ID and NE WA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aster stenomeres A. Gray