Symphyotrichum dumosum explained
Symphyotrichum dumosum (formerly Aster dumosus) is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae commonly known as rice button aster and bushy aster. It is native to much of eastern and central North America, as well as Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach a height of 1m (03feet).
Description
Symphyotrichum dumosum is a perennial, herbaceous plant that grows up to 1m (03feet) high.
Flowers
Symphyotrichum dumosum is a late-summer and fall blooming perennial, with flower heads opening August–October. The flower heads are about 13mm diameter when in bloom and grow in open and much-branched paniculiform arrays. Each has many tiny florets put together into what appear as one.
Involucres and phyllaries
On the outside the flower heads of all members of the family Asteraceae are small bracts that look like scales. These are called phyllaries, and together they form the involucre that protects the individual flowers in the head before they open. The involucres of Symphyotrichum dumosum are cylinder-bell in shape and usually NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on long.
The phyllaries are appressed or slightly spreading. The shape of the outer phyllaries is oblong-oblanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, and the innermost phyllaries are linear. They are in strongly unequal rows, meaning they are very staggered and do not end at the same point, and they are hairless.
Florets
The 15–33 ray florets are blue, pink, purple, or white, with a length averaging NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on and width of NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on. Ray florets in the Symphyotrichum genus are exclusively female, each having a pistil (with style, stigma, and ovary) but no stamen; thus, ray florets accept pollen and each can develop a seed, but they produce no pollen.
The 15–30 disk florets start out as pale yellow and turn pink with age. They are in the shape of a narrow funnel and are shallow at NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on in depth. The disk florets are each made up of, collectively a corolla, which open into 5 lanceolate lobes comprising less than of the depth of the floret. Disk florets in the Symphyotrichum genus are bisexual, each with both male (stamen, anthers, and filaments) and female reproductive parts; thus, a disk floret produces pollen and can develop a seed.
Chromosomes
Symphyotrichum dumosum has a chromosome number of x = 8. Diploid and tetraploid cytotypes with respective chromosome counts of 16 and 32 have been reported.
Taxonomy
This species was long known as Aster dumosus before it was moved into its current genus due to a phylogenetic analysis performed by American botanist Guy L. Nesom. The genus Aster has been narrowed considerably in scope in recent years, due to new information about the relationships of the species in the group.
Symphyotrichum dumosum is classified in the subgenus Symphyotrichum, section Symphyotrichum, subsection Dumosi. It is one of the "bushy asters and relatives." The word Symphyotrichum has as its root the Greek, which means "coming together," and, which means "hair." The specific epithet (second part of the scientific name) Latin: dumosum is Latin neuter case of Latin: dumosus and means "full of thornbushes" and "bushy" (rare).
Infraspecies
Although the following infraspecies are no longer accepted varieties according to Catalogue of Life (COL), Plants of the World Online (POWO), and World Flora Online (WFO), they were accepted by USDA PLANTS Database, NatureServe, and Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). The autonym is Symphyotrichum dumosum var. dumosum.
- Symphyotrichum dumosum var. gracilipes
- Symphyotrichum dumosum var. pergracile
- Symphyotrichum dumosum var. strictior
- Symphyotrichum dumosum var. subulifolium
Distribution and habitat
Distribution
Symphyotrichum dumosum has a recorded native presence in the wild in the Canadian province of Ontario, and in the United States in all states east of the Mississippi River except Vermont, as well as west of the Mississippi River in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. It is also native on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
It is an introduced species in New Brunswick, and in the countries of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland. It is not on the European Union's List of invasive alien species of Union concern.
Habitat
Symphyotrichum dumosum is categorized on the United States National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) with Wetland Indicator Status Rating of Facultative (FAC), choosing wetlands or non-wetlands and adjusting accordingly.
Conservation
, NatureServe lists Symphyotrichum dumosum as Secure (G5) worldwide with notation that the global status was last reviewed in 1985. Some North American province and state statuses are as follows: Presumed Extirpated (SX) in Iowa, Possibly Extirpated (SH) in Maine, Critically Imperiled (S1) in Pennsylvania, Imperiled (S2) in Ontario and Ohio, and Vulnerable (S3) in New York and Florida.
References
- Web site: Brouillet . L. . Luc Brouillet. Semple . J.C. . John C. Semple. Allen . G.A. . Geraldine A. Allen. Chambers . K.L. . Kenton Lee Chambers. Sundberg . S.D. . Scott D. Sundberg. 5 November 2020a. Symphyotrichum dumosum. floranorthamerica.org. Flora of North America Association. Point Arena, California. 19 June 2021.
- Web site: Brouillet . L. . Luc Brouillet. Semple . J.C. . John C. Semple. Allen . G.A. . Geraldine A. Allen. Chambers . K.L. . Kenton Lee Chambers. Sundberg . S.D. . Scott D. Sundberg. 6 November 2020b. Symphyotrichum. floranorthamerica.org. Flora of North America Association. Point Arena, California. 21 June 2021.
- Web site: European Commission . European Commission. 2020 . List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern . ec.europa.eu. European Union . 19 June 2021.
- Book: Hassler . M. . 8 October 2021. Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) G. L. Nesom – World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/53Q7F. Bánki . O.. Roskov . Y.. Döring . M.. Ower . G.. Vandepitte . L.. Hobern . D.. Remsen . D.. Schalk . P.. DeWalt . R.E.. Keping . M.. Miller . J.. Orrell . T.. Aalbu . R.. Adlard . R.. Adriaenssens . E.. Aedo . C.. Aescht . E.. Akkari . N.. Alonso-Zarazaga. M.A.. Alvarez . B. . 19. Species 2000 ITIS Catalogue of Life, 9 November 2021. Catalogue of Life. Leiden, Netherlands. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. 2405-8858. 13 December 2021.
- ITIS . Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 2021. 522200. Symphyotrichum dumosum. www.itis.gov. 18 June 2021.
- Web site: Lewis . C.T. . Charlton Thomas Lewis. Short . C. . Charles Short. 1879. dumosus in A Latin Dictionary. Perseus Digital Library. 19 June 2021.
- Web site: Missouri Botanical Garden . Missouri Botanical Garden. n.d.. Symphyotrichum lateriflorum - Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden. St. Louis. https://web.archive.org/web/20201117092933/http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277245. 17 November 2020. live. 19 June 2021. Genus name comes from the Greek symph meaning coming together and trich meaning hair in possible reference to the flower anthers..
- Book: Morhardt . S.. Morhardt . E.. 2004. California desert flowers: an introduction to families, genera, and species. University of California Press. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London. 0520240030.
- Web site: NatureServe . NatureServe. 4 June 2021. Symphyotrichum dumosum - Bushy Aster . explorer.natureserve.org. Arlington, Virginia. 17 June 2021.
- Nesom . G.L. . Guy L. Nesom. 1995. Review of the taxonomy of Aster sensu lato (Asteraceae: Astereae), emphasizing the New World species. Phytologia. 77. 3. 141–297. 0031-9430. Michael J. Warnock. Huntsville, Texas. 20 June 2021 . .
- Book: Picton . P.. 1999. The gardener's guide to growing asters. 0-88192-473-3. 715820196. Timber Press, Inc.. Portland, Oregon.
- 981804-1. POWO. 2019 . Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) G.L.Nesom . 24 November 2020.
- Web site: Semple . J.C. . John C. Semple. n.d.. Symphyotrichum subsect. Dumosi: Bushy Asters and Relatives . www.uwaterloo.ca. Ontario. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527015644/https://uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/research/asters/symphyotrichum/symphyotrichum-subsect-dumosi. 27 May 2021. live. 19 June 2021.
- Web site: Semple . J.C. . John C. Semple. 27 April 2021a. An overview of "asters" and the Tribe Astereae . www.uwaterloo.ca. Ontario. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527015756/https://uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/research/asters. 27 May 2021. live. 26 May 2021.
- Web site: Semple . J.C. . John C. Semple. 17 May 2021b. Classification of Symphyotrichum in the restricted sense . www.uwaterloo.ca. Ontario. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527015918/https://uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/research/asters/symphyotrichum/classification-symphyotrichum. 27 May 2021. live. 19 June 2021.
- Web site: (([USACE, ERDC, CRREL])) . Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. 2018. 2018 National Wetland Plant List. wetland-plants.usace.army.mil. US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Hanover, New Hampshire. 19 June 2021.
- . 2014. SYDU2. Symphyotrichum dumosum. 18 September 2022.
- Web site: WFO . World Flora Online. 2022. Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) G.L.Nesom. World Flora Online Consortium. www.worldfloraonline.org. 18 September 2022.