Virgulus ericoides var. pansus (S.F.Blake) Reveal & Keener
Symphyotrichum ericoides (formerly Aster ericoides), with common nameswhite heath aster,[4]frost aster,[5] and heath aster,[6] is a species of flowering plant in the familyAsteraceaenative to much of central and eastern North America. It has been introduced to parts of Europe and western Asia.[2]
The naturally-occurring hybrid species of Symphyotrichum ericoides and Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster) is named Symphyotrichum × amethystinum and has the common name amethyst aster. It can grow where the two parents are in close proximity.
Description
S. ericoides is a perennialherbaceous plant with stems from 30 to 91 centimeters (1 to 3 feet) tall.[6] Its leaves are sessile (stalkless) and narrow, becoming smaller towards the top of the plant and tips of the branching stem. It has white (rarely pinkish), flower heads with yellow centers that begin blooming in late summer and last through fall.[7][8] They are 8 to 10 millimeters (1⁄3 to 1⁄2 inch) across.[6][5]
It is commonly confused with Symphyotrichum pilosum, which co-occurs throughout most of its range.[7][9][2][10]S. pilosum has larger flower heads with longer ray petals. The phyllaries on S. pilosum are spine-tipped, while those of S. ericoides are not, although the curled edges may make them appear to be.[7]
Close-up of the flowers
Involucres and phyllaries
Bracts
Leaves, stem, stem node, branch
Just beginning to bloom
Fruiting
Taxonomy
Symphyotrichum ericoides has two varieties: S. ericoides var. ericoides, which spreads by underground rhizomes to form colonies, and S. ericoides var. pansum(S.F.Blake) G.L.Nesom, which is cespitose, remaining in a clump, and has corm-like caudices.[3][11]
F1 hybridization with Symphyotrichum novae-angliae can occur where the ranges of these two species overlap. The hybrid is called Symphyotrichum × amethystinum (amethyst aster)[12] and is intermediate between the parent species in most respects.[13]
S. × amethystinum, center, is a hybrid between S. novae-angliae, right, and S. ericoides, left.
Distribution and habitat
Symphyotrichum ericoides grows from Canada across much of the United States into the Mexican states of Coahuila and Nuevo León.[7] The variety S. ericoides var. ericoides prefers open locations with sandy, gravelly, or disturbed soil.[3]
Symphyotrichum ericoides has been used for medicinal purposes among Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It has been documented that the Meskwaki have used the plant both to revive an unconscious person[14] and in a sweatbath as an herbal steam.[15]
Gardening
Cultivars of Symphyotrichum ericoides are planted in gardens. Plants sold in the horticultural trade labeled as Aster ericoides, the old name of the plant, are usually cultivars or hybrids involving the species S. dumosum, S. lateriflorum, S. pilosum, or S. racemosum, a mistake that has occurred continuously since the 19th century.[7]
Smith, H.H. (1928). "Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians". Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Pub. by order of the board of trustees of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee). 4: 212 – via abstract at Native American Ethnobotany DB (naeb.brit.org).
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