Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Oclemena acuminata
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Test-drive A Teaching Key to Asters.
Read more about Whorled Wood Aster at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Oclemena acuminata
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Oclemena acuminata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Oclemena acuminata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-011:
Aster acuminatus FAMILY Asteraceae
COMMON NAME:
Whorled Nodding-aster, Whorled Wood-aster, Whorled Aster, Floral Wood Aster
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_asac6_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_939
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_941
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0407w_06
July Mitchell County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm150814_717
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Flower heads nodding at first, erect in flower, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm150814_721
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Leaves elliptic, coarsely toothed, long-pointed, and tapered at the base, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm150814_780
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Largest leaves crowded on upper stem, forming what may appear to be a whorl, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm180821_4064
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1485
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1486
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmoacuminata_wtsm2
Month Unknown Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Flower heads in an open corymb, with ~ 15 white rays & a yellow or red disk, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Oclemena acuminata
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Oclemena acuminata
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Oclemena acuminata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Oclemena acuminata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-47-011:
Aster acuminatus
FAMILY
Asteraceae
148
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: spruce-fir forests, northern hardwood forests, mountain seepages and streambanks, other cool, moist situations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains, uncommon in GA Mountains, rare in SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, often appearing whorled
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: White
Disc: Pale yellow becoming reddish
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in open corymbs
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Tan
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p456
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p187
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p103
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p277
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p324
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p409
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p212
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".