Symphyotrichum laeve (formerly Aster laevis) is a flowering plant native to Canada, the United States, and Coahuila (Mexico). It has the common names of smooth blue aster, smooth aster, smooth-leaved aster, glaucous Michaelmas-daisy and glaucous aster.
Description
Smooth aster is 20 to 70 centimeters (8 to 28 inches) tall. Its leaves are arranged alternately on the stems, and their shape varies among lanceolate, oblong-ovate, oblong-obovate, and ovate. They measure from 3 to 20 centimeters (1 to 8 inches) long and from
The flower heads are arranged in clusters (panicles). Each flower head has 13 to 23 ray florets with pale to dark blue or purple petals (laminae), and 19 to 33 disc florets that start out yellow and eventually turn purplish-red. The whole flowerhead measures 13 to 25 millimeters (1⁄2 to 1 in) across.
The seeds are cypselae with pappi (bristles at their tips). Like the hairs on dandelion seeds, the pappi allow the seeds to be spread by the wind.
1 2 3 4 Brouillet et al. 2006.
1 2 3 Hilty 2016.
Taxonomy
There are four varieties: Symphyotrichum laeve var. laeve, S. laeve var. geyeri (Geyer's aster), S. laeve var. concinnum, and S. laeve var. purpuratum.
Hybrids with this species and others of the genus have been reported, including three named as follows:
Symphyotrichum × gravesii between S. laeve var. laeve and S. dumosum;
Symphyotrichum × versicolor between S. laeve var. laeve and S. novi-belgii var. novi-belgii; and,
Symphyotrichum × woldenii between S. laeve var. laeve and S. praealtum, which instead may be between S. oolentangiense and S. praealtum.
Symphyotrichum × gravesii
Symphyotrichum × versicolor
Symphyotrichum × woldenii
Species classifications
body.skin-vector-2022
Symphyotrichum
subg. Chapmaniana
