Species: Doellingeria umbellata var. pubens (Gray) Britt.

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Doellingeria umbellata var. pubens (Gray) Britt.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Asteraceae or Compositae

Genus:

Doellingeria

Species Synonyms:

Aster pubentior Cronq.
Doellingeria umbellata ssp. pubens (Gray) A. & D. Löve
Aster umbellatus var. pubens Gray

Common Names:

flat-topped aster
parasol whitetop
umbellate aster

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

Alberta, east-central – southeastern Saskatchewan – New Brunswick

Saskatchewan:

east-central – southeastern Saskatchewan; Nitenai River Salt Marsh – Duck Mountain, Runnymede, Spy Hill

Ecoregion:

Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Lowland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

moist, open woods and clearings, wooded bogs, and marsh edges

Associated Species:

Canada thistle, dwarf red raspberry, giant goldenrod, Labrador tea, purple meadow rue, purple-stemmed aster, red osier dogwood, stinging nettle, tamarack, white panicle aster

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Vulnerable

Nature Conservancy Status:

G5 S3

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Flat-topped aster is vulnerable because it is uncommon in Saskatchewan and is somewhat regionally restricted. Most local populations are small and are threatened by habitat loss.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

50 – 200 cm tall

Roots:

rhizome well-developed

Stems:

perennial, very leafy, round, minutely hairy

Leaves:

basal and lower stem leaves alternate, subsessile, 4 – 12 cm long, 1 – 2 cm wide, slightly reduced upwards, ellipse-shaped, tip tapered, hairless to rough hairy above, minutely hairy below, thin and soft, margin entire

Inflorescence:

heads several in a flat-topped cluster, 12 – 20 mm across; stalk and bracts not glandular; bracts in 2 – 3 series, 3 – 5 mm tall, overlapping, thin, dry and membranous, straw-coloured midvein, may be minutely hairy, spine absent

Flowers:

ray and disc florets; ray flowers 5 – 10, 5 – 8 mm long, white; disc flowers yellowish

Fruits:

achenes ~ 2 mm long, hairy; pappus in 2 series, inner series of firm whitish bristles, outer series of short, whitish hairs

ASTER COMPLEX KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Basal and lower stem leaves heart-shaped and stalked	Symphyotrichum ciliatum
1 Basal and lower stem leaves tapering at base, sessile to subsessile	2

2 Rays inconspicuous or absent	Symphyotrichum ciliatum (A. brachyactis)
2 Rays conspicuous	3

3 Bracts glandular, sometimes also otherwise hairy	4
3 Bracts not glandular, but may be hairy	7

4 Leaves toothed	Eurybia conspicua
4 Leaves entire or nearly so, margins at most with sharp, straight hairs	5

5 Stem leaves linear; sessile (lower ones stalked)	Almutaster pauciflorus
5 Stem leaves lance-shaped all sessile to clasping	6

6 Inflorescence stalks short; inflorescence compact	Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
6 Inflorescence stalks elongate; inflorescence loose	Canadanthus modestus

7 Pappus double	Doellingeria umbellata (var. pubens if leaf puberulent underneath)
7 Pappus single	8

8 Bracts with spiny tips	9
8 Bracts without spiny tips	10

9 Heads small; bracts 2 – 5 mm high, overlapping; rays 10 – 20	Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides
9 Heads larger; bracts 5 – 8 mm high, bracts not strongly overlapping; rays 22 - 35	Symphyotrichum falcatum var. falcatum

10 Leaves firm; bracts hard or firm, thickened at base, green-tipped	11
10 Leaves thin and soft; bracts thin and scarious, not markedly thickened at base	12

11 Plants < 50 cm tall; leaves linear to narrowly oblong, entire	Oligoneuron album
11 Plants 40 – 100 cm tall; leaves oval to lance-shaped	Symphyotrichum laeve var. laeve

12 Stem leaves strongly clasping at base	Symphyotrichum puniceum var. puniceum
12 Stem leaves sessile, scarcely clasping to not at all clasping with ear-like lobes (if half clasping, not abruptly contracted to a winged petiole)	13

13 Rays white	Symphyotrichum lanceolatumvar. lanceolatum
13 Rays purple or pink, rarely white	14

14 Bracts subequal	Symphyotrichum eatonii
14 Bracts unequal	15

15 Stems stout, to > 2 m tall; leaves lance-shaped to broadest at the middle	Symphyotrichum prenanthoides
15 Stems slender, < 1 m tall; leaves linear to lance-shaped	16

16 Leaves firm; bracts pointing downward	Symphyotrichum adscendens
16 Leaves relatively thin; bracts not pointing downward	17

17 Leaves mostly 2 – 5 mm wide; heads few (<10)	Symphyotrichum boreale
17 Leaves wider; heads > 10	Symphyotrichum lanceolatum var. hesperium