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Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
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CPC National Collection Plant Profile
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Aster puniceus var. scabricaulis
| Family: |
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) |
| Common Name: |
rough-stemmed aster |
| Taxon Synonyms: |
Aster puniceus ssp. elliottii, Aster puniceus ssp. elliottii var. scabricaulis, Aster scabricaulis, Symphyotrichum puniceum var. scabricaule |
| Author: |
(Shinners) A.G. Jones |
| Growth
Habit: |
Perennial |
| CPC
Number: |
352 |
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| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
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Aster puniceus var. scabricaulis
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Correll and Johnston (1979) describe this rare plant found in boggy areas of Northeast Texas as a perennial with underground stems and weak above ground stems to 14-18 dm (55- 71 inches) long. The plants bear rough hairs throughout and have entire or shallowly toothed, sessile leaves. Ray flowers or "petals" are a pale lavender-blue and the "eye" or disc flowers are yellow. Plants at Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens flower profusely starting in early October and ending by mid-November and overwinter as basal rosettes. This perennial likes wet feet and is found in aquatic or boggy sites at the edges of ponds or running water.
This Aster occurs in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana (Faulkner 1999) and although not reported by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program Special Plants Tracking List of 2002, this Aster has been reported to occur in Mississippi (Nesom 1997; Poole et al. 2002).
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
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State Range
Habitat
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Found in aquatic or boggy sites, edges of ponds or running water, seepage bog/pond habitats. Will flower in shade. Nesom (1997) describes the habitat as oak-hickory vegetation developed on loose, sands derived from sandstones of the middle Eocene Claiborne group, namely of the Carrizo, Sparta and Queen City formations. Plants grow in saturated soils in open areas within wetlands.
Nesom (1997) noted that the Texas region where this rare plant occurs is the oak hickory woodland comprised of scattered pine, sweetgum and hickory including, Quercus falcata, Q. marilandica, Q. stellata, Q. velutina, Q. margeretta, Q. nigra, Pinus taeda, Liquidambar styraciflua, Carya texana and Nyssa sylvatica. Understory associates include Juniperus virginiana, Rhus copallina, Ulmus alata, Sassafras albidum and Cornus florida. Other woody wetland plants that occur in conjunction with this rare Aster include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Myrica cerifera, Baccharis halimifolia, Acer rubrum, Salix nigra and Betula nigra. Herbs that are associated with the Aster include Polygonum sagittatum, P. punctatum, Boehmeria cylindrica, Hydrocotyle verticillata, Ludwigia alternifolia, L. octovalvis, L. leptocarpa, Mikania scandens, Bidens laevis, Aster lateriflorus, Solidago rugosa, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Conoclinium coelestinum, Cirsium horridulum, Woodwardia areolata, Thelypteris kunthii, Paspalum urvillei, Erianthus giganteus, Leersia lenticularis, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Commelina communis, Typha domingensis, Cyperus strigosus, C. haspan, other C. species, Scirpus cyperinus and Fuirena pumila. Bog associates include Eriocaulon, Xyris, Eryngium, and Doellingeria species. |
Distribution
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Rare in boggy areas of Northeast Texas in Anderson, Cherokee, Franklin, Henderson, Hopkins, Smith, Wood and Van Zandt counties. Habitat often dissected by highways and adversely affected by mowing schedules.
NatureServe (2001) lists an occurrence of this species in Louisiana. This Aster is listed as Symphyotrichum puniceum var. scabricaule and occurs on boggy ground in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana (Faulkner 1999; Nesom 1997)
Although not reported by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program Special Plants Tracking List of 2002, this Aster has been reported to occur in Grenada and Lauderdale Counties, Mississippi (Nesom 1997; Poole et al. 2002). |
Number Left
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About 6 populations in Texas at a dozen sites, historically. NatureServe reports 8 populations (2001) and also lists an occurrence in Louisiana, and Nesom (1997) reports an occurrence in Mississippi. |
State/Area
Protection
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State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
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Louisiana |
S1? |
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Texas |
S2 |
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2/21/1989 |
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| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
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Ecological
Relationships
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Pollinators include bumblebees. Seed predation by unidentified larvae has been noted during propagation (Wieland 1995). |
Threats
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Highway mowing often corresponds with the October bloom time for this species.
In half of the known sites, pond edges are manicured bermuda grass and populations have been lost.
Drainage, burning and other alterations of drainage pattern and community structure such as habitat fragmentation (NatureServe 2001). |
Current Research Summary
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Guy L. Nesom at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) in Ft. Worth, TX has most recently addressed the taxonomic placement of this species (Nesom 2000).
Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens maintains a seed bank for this species. Mercer's banked seeds from wild populations date to 1992. Mercer also banks subsets of rare seeds collected from field surveys and from propagation work with our collaborating CPC institution, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, TX and the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Ft. Collins, CO (formerly called the National Seed Storage Laboratories).
Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens maintains live plants in the endangered species nursery and displays plants for the public in the Endangered Species Garden. The Endangered Species Garden, established in 1994 with support from Star Enterprises, displays rare native plants for the public to view year-round. In Spring 2002, the River Oaks Garden Club of Houston, TX provided a generous gift to begin the expansion and renovation of Mercers Endangered Species Garden.
The plants are propagated easily via divisions. Mercer's plants flower profusely starting in early October and end by mid-November. Flowers are visited by bumblebees, however, seed set has been reported as very poor. Guy Nesom has reported poor seed set in the field as well. Seeds are eaten by unidentified larvae (Wieland 1995). Root and stem cuttings have also provided plants. |
Current Management Summary
Research Management Needs
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Mowing schedules should be coordinated with bloom and seed set.
Investigate pollination biology.
Further investigate germination and seedling ecology (Nesom 1995)
Continue genetic and taxonomic studies. |
Ex Situ Needs
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Propagate for restoration projects.
Continue public education for this species.
Expand seed bank. |
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| Books (Single Authors)
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| Correll, D.S.; Johnston, M.C. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Renner: Texas Research Foundation. 1881p. |
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| Books (Sections)
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| Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC. |
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| Electronic Sources
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| NatureServe. (2008). NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. [Internet].Version 7.0. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. Accessed: (June 17, 2008). |
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| Journal Articles
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| Nesom, G.L. 1997. The Status of Aster scabricaulis (Asteraceae-Astereae), An Endemic of Northeast Texas. Phytologia. 82, 4: 300-315. |
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| Nesom, G.L. 2000. Generic Conspectus of the Tribe Astereae (Asteraceae) in North America the Antilles and Hawaii. SIDA, Botanical Miscellany. 20 |
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| Semple, J.C.; Chmielewski, J.G.; Xiang, C.S. 1992. Chromosome-number Determinations in the Family Compositae, Tribe Astereae IV. Additional Reports and Comments on the Cytogeography and Status of Some Species of Aster and Solidago. Rhodora. 94, 87: 48-62. |
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| Reports
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| 2001. Texas Endemics:Distribution of Aster puniceus subsp. elliottii var. scabricaulis. Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group. |
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| Faulkner, P. 1999. Rare Plant Species of Louisiana. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program. |
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| Poole, J.M.; Singhurst, J.R.; Price, D.M.; Carr, W.R. 2002. A List of Rare Plants of Texas. The Nature Conservancy. |
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| Wieland, G.D. 1995. Unpublished records. Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. |
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