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• Daisies, goldenrods, and other aster family plants
• Sericocarpus asteroides

Sericocarpus asteroides — toothed white-topped-aster

Facts

Toothed white-topped-aster is native to the eastern and southeastern United States. It is found in all New England states but is very rare in Maine. The genus name 'Seriocarpus' comes from the Greek words 'sericos,' meaning silky, and 'carpos,' meaning fruit. This name refers to the hairy fruits (cypselae) of plants in this genus.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), grassland, woodlands

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bases of bract appendages

  NA

  Bract cycle number

  there are three or more cycles of bracts

  Bract margins

  there are fine hairs along the bract margins

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are oblanceolate (widest near the tip, but otherwise narrow and tapering)
  • the main bracts are oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)

  Bract tip color

  the tips are a different color from the center of the bract

  Bract tip orientation

  the tips of the bracts curve outwards and downwards from the plant

  Bract tip shape

  • the tips of the bracts acute (have a sharp point)
  • the tips of the bracts are obtuse (have a blunt point)

  Disk flower color

  white

  Disk flower lobe number

  5

  Disk flower number

  • 11-20
  • 6-10

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  the disk flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Flower head number

  • each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it
  • each flowering stem has only one to three flower heads on it

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap

  Flower head platform

  the base has no bristles or papery scales

  Flower head platform surface

  NA

  Flower head position

  some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more

  Flower head profile

  the disk is rounded across the top

  Flower head shape

  the sides of the flower head are roughly parallel, like a cylinder

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has tubular disk flowers in the center and ray flowers, these often strap-shaped, around the periphery

  Height of flower head base

  4–7 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has hairs on it, but the hairs have no glands

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has hairs on it

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is roughly egg-shaped, but widest above the middle

  Peduncle orientation

  the flower heads are held upright, or slightly angled outwards

  Ray flower color

  white

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  the ray flowers have carpels or stamens, but not both

  Ray flowers

  • 1-5
  • 6-10

  Ray length

  2–6 mm

  Reproductive system

  some of the flowers on the plant have only carpels or stamens, while others have both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  NA

  Width of flower head base

  4–6 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  0.8–2 mm

  Seed hair tuft color

  the pappus hairs are pale red to red-brown or purple

  Seed hair tuft details

  the pappus hairs are hooked or barbed

  Seed hair tuft length

  4–5 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  the pappus hairs are slender

  Seed tuft scale number

  0

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of very fine hairs or bristles

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  at least a part of the plume is made up of fine bristles

• Glands or sap

  Leaf blade glands

  the leaf blades have glandular (translucent) dots or scales

  Ovary glands

  there are no visible glands on the ovary

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  • the plant has a caudex (the root mass is firm and hardened at the top)
  • the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct petiole
  • the leaf has no petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  • the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
  • the base of the leaf blade is rounded

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade length

  10–150 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
  • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is spatulate (spoon-shaped; narrow near the base, then suddenly widening to a rounded tip)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  there is no noticeable color variation on the upper surface of the leaf

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade width

  10–45 mm

  Leaf disposition

  • the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem
  • the lower leaves are larger, toothier, and/or on longer stalks than the upper leaves

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  • the leaves have leaf stalks
  • the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf stalk length

  At least 0 mm

  Leaf tip extension

  NA

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaflet number

  0

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • grasslands
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • woodlands

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant does not have much of an odor

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem cross-section

  the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem bloom

  there is no powdery or waxy film on the stem

  Stem internode hair length

  At least 0 mm

  Stem internode hairs

  • the stem has hairs between the nodes
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem wings

  the stem does not have wings on it

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae