Symphyotrichum tenuifolium
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Photos Courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
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| Botanical name: | Symphyotrichum tenuifolium |
| Common name: | perennial saltmarsh aster |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb |
| Duration: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | 1 - 2' |
| Foliage: | Few fleshy, long narrow leaves; bract not spreading |
| Flower: | pale pink to purple or white, 1/2" to 1" across |
| Flowering time: | August - October |
| Habitat: | salt marshes |
| Range in New Jersey: | along the coastal counties on the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc.: | Can be distinguished from the annual
species by its roots system; S.
tenuifolium has a fibrous root system, unlike the taproot
of S. subulatum. The flowerhead of subulatum is also smaller. On the left, S. tenuifolium; on the right, S. subulatum:  |