Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. spathulatum (Lindl.) G.L. Nesom
western mountain aster
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
western mountain aster
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Map
Distribution of Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. spathulatum
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a fibrous-rooted, creeping rhizome; stems ascending to erect, branched above, glabrous to slightly hairy; 0.2-1.0 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves soon deciduous; stem leaves oblanceolate and stalked below, linear or lanceolate and unstalked above, 3-15 cm long, 3-13 mm wide, mostly 7-10 times as long as wide, mostly glabrous, entire.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary to many in an open, round-topped inflorescence; involucres 5-7 mm tall; involucral bracts scarcely to evidently graduated, linear to linear-oblong, abruptly sharp-pointed, rarely obtuse, glabrous, margins fringed with small hairs, often green to the base, infrequently minutely purple-tipped; ray flowers 20-50, blue to violet or purple, 6-15 mm long; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes obscurely nerved, hairy; pappus whitish.
Notes:
Two fairly distinct varieties occur in our region and may be separated as follows:
1. Heads solitary or several in a sparsely leafy, few-branched inflorescence; leaves linear.......................... var. occidentalis
1. Heads numerous in a leafy, much-branched inflorescence; leaves lanceolate........................... var. intermedius A. Gray
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. spathulatum
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) |
1271 | 60 | 2382 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
17 | 0 | 90 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
206 | 17 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
79 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(3), CWH(1), ESSF(24), ICH(4), IDF(27), MS(16), PP(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic meadows and open forests in the lowland and montane zones; both varieties frequent in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and S of 55degreeN, var. occidentalis also infrequent on S Vancouver Island and the mainland coast; N to NT, and S to CO and CA.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aster ascendens var. fremontii Torr. & A. Gray
Aster delectabilis H.M. Hall
Aster fremontii (Torr. & A. Gray) A. Gray
Aster fremontii var. parishii A. Gray
Aster occidentalis (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray
Aster occidentalis var. delectabilis (H.M. Hall) Ferris
Aster occidentalis var. fremontii (Torr. & A. Gray) A.G. Jones
Aster occidentalis var. parishii (A. Gray) Ferris
Aster spathulatus Lindl.
Symphyotrichum spathulatum var. fremontii (Torr. & A. Gray) G.L. Nesom
Tripolium occidentale Nutt.