Southern Swamp Grass Leaf Aster

Eurybia paludosa is often confused with E. hemispherica, with which it is closely related. It is present on the Atlantic coastal plain from North Carolina to northeastern Florida. The two species are disjunct geographically and ecologically, even when they occur in the same states. In North Carolina, for instance, E. paludosa is coastal while E. hemispherica is found in the mountains. In northern Florida, the former is found only in Nassau County, while the latter is present only in the western panhandle. Their ranges do not overlap.

Plants 20–80 cm; in clumps and clones, eglandular; rhizomes creeping, herbaceous and thin, becoming thick and woody, scaly. Stems 1–10+, erect, often reddish, simple, straight (brittle), proximally glabrous, glabrescent, or sparsely strigillose, distally strigillose or ± villoso-hirsute (at least in arrays). Leaves basal and cauline, firm, only midnerves evident, margins indurate, entire or sometimes remotely spinulose-serrate, scabrous, spines indurate, ± pronounced, apices mucronate or indurate, abaxial faces glabrous or scabrous, adaxial sparsely hirtellous, distal often more hairy; basal and proximalmost cauline withering by flowering, petioles (often marcescent, to 20 mm), bases sheathing, blades elliptic to lanceolate (basal) or linear-lanceolate, ± arcuate (proximal), 15–103 × 5–9 mm, bases cuneate, apices obtuse (basal) to acute; cauline progressively sessile (petioles more winged) and reduced, blades lanceolate or linear-lanceolate to linear, ± arcuate, 18–132+ × 2–6 mm, margins sometimes revolute, apices acute. Heads (1–)4–10+ in open, corymbiform arrays, seldom borne singly, with ascending branches. Peduncles ascending, usually mostly 1–10+ cm (seldom not elongating, sometimes those of young heads appearing short or absent), thin, hirtello-puberulent to villoso-hirsute; bracts 2–5, often 1–2 subtending heads, sometimes phyllary-like (bases pale, indurate). Involucres campanulate, 9–11 mm, much shorter than pappi. Phyllaries 40–65+ in 4–5 series, lanceolate or oblong (outer) to linear-oblanceolate or linear (inner), unequal, membranous, bases indurate, rounded (particularly outer), green zones well defined, slightly expanded in distal ¹ / 3 – ² / 3 (foliaceous), reaching margins (outer wholly foliaceous, outermost are bracts subtending heads) to ¹ / 6 or less and not reaching margins or none (inner), margins sometimes distally purplish (particularly inner), indurate, narrowly scarious, erose proximally to nearly completely so (inner), densely ciliate proximally (scarious part) to distally scabrous (foliaceous part), apices loose and often spreading, sometimes squarrose, obtuse to sometimes acute, mucronate, faces sparsely to densely strigillose. Ray florets 15–35; corollas deep lavender to purple, (10–)15–20 × 1–2.3 mm. Disc florets 25–60; corollas yellow, 5.5–7 mm, slightly ampliate, tubes much shorter than cylindro-funnelform throats, lobes spreading, lanceolate-acuminate, 0.75–1.1 mm. Cypselae stramineous to tawny, cylindric to narrowly obovoid, slightly compressed, 2.3–3.6 mm, ribs 10–16, sparsely strigillose; pappi of stramineous (firm, sometimes apically clavellate) bristles 5–6.7 mm, ± equaling disc corollas. 2n = 36.

Aster paludosus Aiton, Hort. Kew. 3: 201. 1789; Heleastrum paludosum (Aiton) de Candolle

Eurybia paludosa, commonly known as the southern swamp aster, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southeastern United States where it is confined to the Carolinas and the states of Georgia and Florida. It is generally confined to moist soils, though it can occasionally be found on sand hills along the coastal plain. The southern swamp aster is often confused with the closely related southern prairie aster (Eurybia hemispherica), though they do not occur in the same habitats or geographical areas. Its flower heads emerge in the late summer through fall and show deep lavender to purple rays with yellow centres.