Largeflower Aster

Perennials, 50–100 cm, colonial; woody rhizomatous. Stems 1–5+, erect (stout, brown), proximally ± hispid, distally sparsely strigose, distally stipitate-glandular. Leaves stiff (dark green), greatly reduced distally, margins entire, scabrous; basal early deciduous, sessile, blades (3-nerved) oblanceolate, 40–80 × 4–12 mm, bases attenuate, apices obtuse to acute, faces sparsely scabrous; proximal cauline usually withered by flowering, sessile, blades oblanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, 20–60 × 5–20 mm, bases cordate-clasping, apices acute, mucronulate, faces glabrate to sparsely scabrous, stipitate-glandular; distal sessile, blades lanceolate to oblong, 20–40 × 5–8 mm, bases cuneate, apices acute, mucronulate to white-spinulose, faces glabrous or scabrous, sparsely stipitate-glandular. Heads in racemiform to paniculiform arrays, branches patent or ascending with 1–5+ heads. Peduncles 3–5 cm, short-strigose, stipitate-glandular, bracts spreading to reflexed, lanceolate-oblong, 5–10 mm, little reduced distally, grading into phyllaries. Involucres campanulate, 8.5–12 mm. Phyllaries in 3–4 series, spatulate-oblanceolate, unequal, bases ± indurate, margins scarious, green zones covering distal portion, apices spreading to strongly reflexed, faces sparsely scabrous, moderately stipitate-glandular. Ray florets 14–35; corollas light to reddish purple, laminae 11–15(–20) × 1.5–2.5 mm. Disc florets 25–35; corollas yellow becoming reddish purple, 5.5–8 mm, lobes narrowly triangular, 0.7–1 mm. Cypselae light brown, cylindric to narrowly obovoid, ± compressed, 3–4.5 mm, 7–10-nerved (brown), faces moderately strigose; pappi tan, 5.5–6 mm. 2n = 30, 60.

Aster grandiflorus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 877. 1753; Virgulus grandiflorus (Linnaeus) Reveal & Keener

Symphyotrichum grandiflorum (formerly Aster grandiflorus), the largeflower aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States where it is restricted to the Atlantic coastal plain of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and the Piedmont of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is known from habitats such as sandy areas, roadsides, thickets, and forest edges. It can be distinguished from other Symphyotrichum species by its taller and hairier stems, clasping lower leaves, and large, showy flower heads. It is possibly threatened by habitat destruction within its restricted range but is still considered locally abundant in many areas such as the southern Appalachian Mountains.