''Symphyotrichum subulatum'' (formerly ''Aster subulatus''), commonly known as eastern annual saltmarsh aster or, in Britain and Ireland where it is naturalized, annual saltmarsh aster, is an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

plant in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

native to the eastern United States and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The species grows primarily in coastal

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es, although in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

it occurs as a non-marine weedy variety.

Description

''Symphyotrichum subulatum'' is an

forb that possesses a single erect stem that can reach up to in height. The stem, along with its thin green to dark green leaves, are both hairless. The sheathing base-blades of the leaves are ovulate, and the margins are

entire Entire may refer to: * Entire function, a function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane * Entire (animal), an indication that an animal is not neutered * Entire (botany) This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions o ...

. The top of the stem extends into a

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

. The heads open up into bright yellow

disc floret Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fa ...

s that are surrounded by

ray floret Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...

s that vary in color from white to lavender. Aster subulatus heads1 (11972029663).jpg, ''S. subulatum'' Symphyotrichum subulatum 114887428.jpg, ''S. subulatum'' base Symphyotrichum subulatum var sandwicensis leaves.jpg, ''S. subulatum'' stem and leaves

Taxonomy

The species' full scientific name is ''Symphyotrichum subulatum'' (Michx.) G.L.Nesom. , three varieties of ''S. subulatum'' were accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

(POWO), with ''S. subulatum'' var. ''subulatum'' as the

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

: *''S. subulatum'' var. ''subulatum'' *''S. subulatum'' var. ''elongatum'' (Boss. ex A.G.Jones & Lowry) S.D.Sundb. *''S. subulatum'' var. ''squamatum'' (Spreng.) S.D.Sundb. The varieties ''S. subulatum'' var. ''ligulatum'' (Shinners) S.D.Sundb. and ''S. s.'' var. ''parviflorum'' (Nees) S.D.Sundb., , are accepted at the species level by POWO as '' Symphyotrichum divaricatum'' (Nutt.) G.L.Nesom and ''Symphyotrichum expansum'' (Poepp. ex Spreng.) G.L.Nesom, respectively. , ''S. s.'' var. ''parviflorum'' (Nees) S.D.Sundb. is accepted at the species level by

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

(COL) as '' Symphyotrichum parviflorum''.

Distribution and habitat

''Symphyotrichum subulatum'' is a terrestrial species that will typically grow among grasses of any kind. It is found in salt marshes, pond margins, sloughs, swamps, crop field margins, lawns, and roadsides. It is thought to be especially prevalent in these areas because of a tolerance to saline soils and mowing. It is native to the eastern and Gulf Coast areas of the United States. It is also common across Mexico, the West Indies, Bermuda, Central America, and South America, depending on variety.

Uses

According to the

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin is the state botanical garden and arboretum of Texas. The center features more than 900 species of native Texas plants in both garden ...

, eastern annual saltmarsh aster can be planted to attract butterflies and has value for native bees.

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q19848978, from2=Q11076127, from3=Q24691728, from4=Q24691719, from5=Q24691727 subulatum Flora of Ontario Flora of the United States Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Flora of Southern America Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plants described in 1803 Taxa named by André Michaux