Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Slender Aster - Eurybia compacta   Nesom
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Eurybia with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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AuthorNesom
DistributionCoastal Plain, Sandhills, and lower Piedmont. Likely absent from the far northeastern counties.

Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont, NJ to east-central GA.
AbundanceUncommon to locally fairly common in the Coastal Plain and Sandhills; uncommon in the eastern Piedmont.
HabitatOpenings in dry to mesic pine-oak-hickory woodlands, Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) uplands and savannas, woodland borders, powerlines, roadsides. In the Piedmont mainly along the borders of pine stands.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting late July - early October.
IdentificationThe genus Eurybia has been split from Aster (now Symphyotrichum). Variation among species of each genus requires several steps in a key to split members of the two genera apart (see genus key in Weakley 2018).

Slender Aster is a short species, at most to 1.5 feet tall, usually a foot or less. Leaves lack stalks and are narrowly elliptic, 2-6 cm long, usually without teeth. The inflorescence is rather flat-topped, with lavender rays and yellow disks. This aster prefers acidic soil but in dry to mesic conditions, usually not far from pine stands.
Taxonomic CommentsFormerly treated as Aster gracilis.

Other Common Name(s)None
State RankS3? [S4]
Global RankG4G5
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B.A. SorriePiedmont, roadside powerline, Spies Road, Sept 2014. MoorePhoto_natural
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