Symphyotrichum puniceum (Purple-Stemmed Aster) - photos and description
General: Tall, stout-stemmed perennials, branching above. Stems purple in colour and with long, stiff hairs.
Flowers: Flowers from upper leaf axils in a loose inflorescence, light violet in colour, flower head measured to 4.5 cm in diameter.
Leaves: Leaves cauline, alternate, auriculate and clasping, narrowly lanceolate, having small teeth. Leaf highlighted in photo above was measured at 8 cm long and 17 mm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 200 cm, we measured plants to 107 cm tall.
Habitat: Swamps and marshlands.
Abundance: Common, ranked as an S5 by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in many of the field guides we use as Aster puniceus.
How to identify this species: Auriculate, clasping stem leaves, and a rough, hairy stem (Budd's Flora).
When and where photographed: Took the above photos August 3rd, swampy coniferous woods, Meadow Lake Provincial Park, about 550 km northwest of our home in Regina, SK.