DACF Home → Bureaus & Programs → Maine Natural Areas Program → Communities, Plants, and Animals → Rare Plants → Symphyotrichum dumosum
Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) Nesom
Bushy Aster
- State Rank: SH
- Global Rank: G5
- State Status: Potentially Extirpated
Habitat: Fields, woodlands, and dry, sandy places.
Range: Southern Maine to Florida, west to Louisiana, north to Michigan.
Aids to Identification: The lobes of the disk corolla on this aster comprise 15-45% of the limb. The leaf blades are narrowed to the base and involucral bracts lack a spine tip and are softly ciliate on the margin. There are many short (1-4 mm long) imbricate bracts.
Ecological characteristics: This aster grows mostly on or near the coastal plain.
Phenology: Flowers late August - October.
Family: Asteraceae
Synonyms: Aster cordifolius Michx.; Aster dumosus L. var. cordifolius (Michx.) Torr. & Gray; Aster dumosus L. var. gracilentus Torr. & Gray; Aster dumosus L. var. dodgei Fern.; Aster dumosus L. var. strictior Torr. & Gray; Aster dumosus L. var. subulifolius Torr. & Gray; Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) Nesom var. dodgei (Fern.) Nesom; Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) Nesom var. strictior (Torr. & Gray) Nesom; Symphyotrichum dumosum (L.) Nesom var. subulifolium (Torr. & Gray) Nesom
Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been historically documented from a total of 1 town(s) in the following county(ies): York.
Reason(s) for rarity: Northern limit of its range.
Conservation considerations: None noted.