Symphyotrichum boreale (Torr. & A. Gray) Á. Löve & D. Löve
rush aster
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
rush aster
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a slender, rhizome, seldom over 2 mm thick; stems erect, simple or branched above, glabrous below becoming hairy above, 15 to 80 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves reduced and soon deciduous; stem leaves linear, unstalked with rounded bases, glabrous, entire or inconspicuously toothed, 2-7 cm long, 2-9 mm wide, becoming reduced above.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary (in reduced plants) to many in a short, usually broad inflorescence; involucres 5-7 mm tall; involucral bracts more or less graduated, oblong, abruptly sharp-pointed, glabrous, often with purplish tips or margins; ray flowers 20-50, white or rarely pale bluish, 12-20 mm; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes several-nerved, hairy; pappus white.
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 Symphyotrichum boreale
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) |
943 | 30 | 1480 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
0 | 0 | 25 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
164 | 30 | 216 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 3 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
99 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), BWBS(8), ESSF(3), ICH(13), IDF(29), MS(6), SBPS(23), SBS(13) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Marshes, bogs, fens and lakesides from the lowland to subalpine zones; common in S BC, less frequent northward; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ, PE and NS and S to NJ, MN, SD, CO, ID and ORStatus Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aster borealis (Torr. & A. Gray) Prov.
Aster franklinianus Rydb.
Aster junceus auct. non Aiton
Aster junciformis Rydb.
Aster laxifolius var. borealis Torr. & A. Gray