Rough-leaf Aster, Rough-leaved Aster: Eurybia radulina (Synonym: Aster radulinus)

The photo above shows part of the inflorescence of rough-leaved aster as seen along the Island Springs Trail #66 at the location denoted below..........August 25, 2005. Note the narrow disk and lavender, propellor-shaped ray flowers.

Rough-leaf aster is a perennial wildflower with erect stems from 15-60 cm high. The stems are hairy but not glandular. The lower leaves are obovate to oval in shape, the blade tapering to ciliate margined petioles. The leaves of mid-stem are narrowly oval, measuring from 4-12.5 cm long and 1-7 cm wide. The base of these leaves are sessile, and the tips are acute. The margins are toothed (except at the base) and the upper surface of the blades are smooth. The upper leaves are reduced to entire bracts.

The inflorescence is a flat or rounded cyme or cymose panicle. The heads are 1.5-2.5 cm wide and the stems below the heads are hairy. The involucre is 6-9 mm tall with the inner bracts narrow and ciliate margined and spreading tips which are greenish. The midrib of the bracts is keeled and the margins are purplish. There are 10-15 white to purple rays, each of which is 8-12 mm long. The disk corollas are 7-8 mm long.

Rough-leaved aster is found west of the Cascade summit from Washington south to central California. It is also found in the Ochoco Mts. of central Oregon.

In the Columbia River gorge, it may be found between the elevations of 100'-4300' from Angel's Rest east to near Mosier, Or. A good spot to see this early fall-blooming wildflower is to proceed along WA SR 14 to the large paved parking lot at the north side of Bonneville Dam and proceed on the connector trail to the Pacific Crest Trail. Numerous rough-leaf asters may be found in the dry meadow atop the eastern portal for the railroad tunnel along that trail.

The photo above shows the involucral bracts of rough-leaved aster as seen along the Island Springs Trail #66........August 25, 2005. Note the shingled appearance of the purple-tipped involucral bracts. The fleabanes (genus Erigeron) and asters are often both similar in appearance and can be distinguished partly by bloom period (the fleabanes tend to bloom earlier and the asters later) and by the arrangement of the involucral bracts. The bracts of the asters, as seen here, tend to overlap like shingles, with the outermost the shortest and the innermost the longest. All the bracts of the fleabanes tend to be roughly the same length.

The photo at left shows the upper stem of rough-leaved aster as seen along the Island Springs Trail #66 on the eastern slopes of Mt. Adams. Note the alternating leaves and the slightly zigzag appearance of the stem. The photo at right shows the lower leaf surface of rough-leaved aster. The blades tend to be slightly wider toward the tips and narrow gradually to the base.