Simmonds’s Aster
Symphyotrichum simmondsii (Small) Nesom is native to wet soil areas of margins of thickets and canals, prairies, roadsides, from southern North Carolina to the Florida Peninsula (Brouillet et al. 2006; FNA). The species was first described as Aster simmondsii Small. The species is likely closely related to Sy. dumosum. The species is octaploid (2n=64) throughout its range (Semple et al. 2024).
1-4. Symphyotrichum simmondsii. 1. Habitat, Semple 11790, Brunswick Co., North Carolina. 2. Shoots, Semple & Weakley 11779, Pender Co., North Carolina. 3. Leaves, S 11790. 4-5. Inflorescence and heads, Semple 11693, Wakula Co., Florida.
Brouillet, L., J.C. Semple, G.A. Allen, K. Chambers and S. Sundburg. 2006. Symphyotrichum Nees. pp. 465-539. In Flora North America Editorial Committee, eds. Flora of North America. Vol. 20. Asteraceae, Part 2. Astereae and Senecioneae. Oxford University Press, New York.
Semple, J.C., J.G. Chmielewski and M. Horsburgh. 2024. The cytogeography Symphyotrichum dumosum and S. simmondsii (Asteraceae: Astereae). Phytoneuron 2024-44: 1–8.
Last updated 2 April 2025 by J.C. Semple
© 2025 J.C. Semple, including all photographs unless otherwise indicated.