Eurybia conspicua

Western Showy Aster

Eurybia conspicua (Lindl.) G.L. Nesom is native to open, mesic conifer (spruce-fir, pine, or aspen-conifer) or aspen woods, from foothills to upper montane zone, mesic to dry meadows, forest openings, in somewhat clayey soils, adapted to spring fires from British Columbia to Manitoba south to northwester Wyoming with disjunct populations further east in Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota (Brouillet 2006 FNA).  The species is distinguished by its often tall erect stems with serrate broadly lanceolate leaves and large heads with stipitate-glandular phyllaries and showy violet-purple rays. The species includes 12x duodecaploids (2n=108) and 14x plants (2n=c.122-126).