DACF Home → Bureaus & Programs → Maine Natural Areas Program → Communities, Plants, and Animals → Rare Plants → Sericocarpus asteroides
Sericocarpus asteroides (L.) B.S.P.
White-topped Aster
- State Rank: S1
- Global Rank: G5
- State Status: Endangered
Habitat: Open woods and clearings. [Dry barrens (partly forested, upland)]
Range: Southern Maine to Michigan, south to Florida and west to Mississippi.
Aids to Identification: This perennial aster is characterized by its white, sometimes pink, flower clusters with only 4-8 ray flowers (most asters have many more), arranged in flat-topped clusters. At least some of the leaves are toothed with the lower leaves sometimes enlarged. Technical characters for this species include the dense silky hairs on the fruits (cypselas) and the cartilaginous phyllaries.
Ecological characteristics: Known in Maine to occur in open grasslands.
Phenology: Flowers July - August.
Family: Asteraceae
Synonyms: Aster asteroides (L.) MacMillan; Aster paternus Cronq.; Conyza asteroides L.
Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 4 town(s) in the following county(ies): York.
Reason(s) for rarity: At northern limit of range.
Conservation considerations: Heavy all-terrain vehicle use of the sandy habitats where this occurs may be detrimental to the plant populations.