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, puberulent

Leaves:

basal and lower stem leaves alternate, subsessile, 4 – 12 cm long, 1 – 2 cm wide, slightly reduced upwards, elliptic, apex acute, glabrous to scabrous above, puberulent below, thin and soft, margin entire

Inflorescence:

heads several in a flat-topped cluster, 12 – 20 mm across; peduncle and phyllaries not glandular; phyllaries in 2 – 3 series, 3 – 5 mm tall, imbricate, thin and scarious, straw-coloured midvein, may be puberulent, spine absent

Flowers:

ligulate and tubular florets; ligules 5 – 10, 5 – 8 mm long, white; tubular florets yellowish

Fruits:

achenes ~ 2 mm long, pubescent; 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 cauline leaves cordate and petiolate	Symphyotrichum ciliatum
1 Basal and lower cauline leaves tapering at base, sessile to subsessile	2

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

3 Involucre glandular, sometimes also otherwise pubescent	4
3 Involucre not glandular, but may be pubescent	7

4 Leaves dentate	Eurybia conspicua
4 Leaves entire or nearly so, margins at most strigose pubescent	5

5 Cauline leaves linear, upper sessile (lower petioled)	Almutaster pauciflorus
5 Cauline leaves lanceolate, all sessile to clasping	6

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

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

8 Phyllaries with spinulose tips	9
8 Phyllaries without spinulose tips	10

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

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

11 Plants < 50 cm tall; leaves linear to narrowly oblong	Oligoneuron album
11 Plants 40 – 100 cm tall; leaves ovate to lanceolate	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 auriculate clasping (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 Phyllaries subequal	Symphyotrichum eatonii
14 Phyllaries unequal	15

15 Stems stout, to > 2 m tall; leaves lanceolate to elliptic	Symphyotrichum prenanthoides
15 Stems slender, < 1 m tall; leaves linear to lanceolate	16

16 Leaves firm; involucre appressed	Symphyotrichum adscendens
16 Leaves relatively thin; involucre not appressed	17

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