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Soft Aster - Symphyotrichum molle
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State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Known in Montana from 1 collection from the Bighorn Mtns. Though its exact status is uncertain, its rarity warrants its inclusion as a Species of Concern.
General Description
Rhizomatous perennial. Stems ascending to erect, 30–60 cm. Herbage pubescent to sericeous. Leaves basal and cauline; blades oblanceolate, 1–5 cm long, entire; the lower petiolate. Inflorescence leafy-paniculate with several heads; peduncles pubescent. Involucre campanulate, 7–9 mm high; phyllaries spreading, oblanceolate, pubescent, green above, white below; inner narrower. Rays 20 to 35, violet; ligules 12–20 mm long. Disk flowers 35 to 70, yellow; corollas 5–7 mm long. Achenes cylindric, 2–4 mm long, hairy (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX ).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Endemic to Big Horn County, MT and adjacent WY (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX ).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 2
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Ecology
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus vagans ,
Bombus bifarius ,
Bombus borealis ,
Bombus centralis ,
Bombus fervidus ,
Bombus flavifrons ,
Bombus huntii ,
Bombus mixtus ,
Bombus rufocinctus ,
Bombus sylvicola ,
Bombus ternarius ,
Bombus terricola ,
Bombus sitkensis ,
Bombus pensylvanicus ,
Bombus griseocollis ,
Bombus impatiens ,
Bombus insularis ,
Bombus suckleyi ,
Bombus bohemicus , and
Bombus kirbiellus (Plath 1934, Heinrich 1976, Thorp et al. 1983, Colla and Dumesh 2010, Colla et al. 2011, Koch et al. 2012, Williams et al. 2014, Tripoldi and Szalanski 2015).
Threats or Limiting Factors
STATE THREAT SCORE REASON
References
Literature Cited AboveLegend: Bombus ) of Arkansas, fifty years later. Journal of Melittology 50: doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/jom.v0i50.4834
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