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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
ABBREVIATION :
ASTCON
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
ASCO3
COMMON NAMES :
showy aster
conspicuous aster
creeping aster
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of showy aster is Aster
conspicuus Lindl. [10,14]. There are no recognized subspecies,
varieties, or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
William R. Reed, September 1993
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Reed, William R. 1993. Aster conspicuus. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Showy aster is distributed from Yukon Territory east to
Saskatchewan, south to northern Wyoming, and west to northeastern
Oregon [10,14].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
STATES :
ID MT OR WA WY AB BC SK YT
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
BIHO GLAC GRTE NOCA YELL
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
2 Cascade Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir - hemlock forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K055 Sagebrush steppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
201 White spruce
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
207 Red fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
212 Western larch
213 Grand fir
215 Western white pine
218 Lodgepole pine
219 Limber pine
237 Interior ponderosa pine
251 White spruce - aspen
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Common plant associates of showy aster include heartleaf arnica (Arnica
cordifolia), Lindley aster (Aster ciliolatus), pinegrass (Calamagrostis
rubescens), white spiraea (Spiraea betulifolia), huckleberry (Vaccinium
spp.), and elk sedge (Carex geyeri).
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Showy aster is a common constituent of summmer diets of black bear in
lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests of Alberta [11].
Showy aster is preferred forage for grizzly bears in the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Area, northwestern Montana [17].
PALATABILITY :
Showy aster provides valuable forage for deer, elk, cattle, and domestic
sheep in Idaho and British Columbia [18,21].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Showy aster is low in resistance to repeated human trampling, but it may
recover rapidly. In montane grassland in Montana, showy aster cover
increased more than 30 percent between the end of August and the
following June [3].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Showy aster cover decreased from 4.4 to 0.7 percent under heavy grazing
in a Douglas-fir forest in northern Idaho [27]. It also declined in
abundance and vigor following heavy grazing in a Douglas-fir vegetation
type in British Columbia [25], and decreased to 0.0 percent frequency
following 12 years of heavy grazing in a mountain meadow community in
northern Idaho [15].
Showy aster increased following clearcutting in a Douglas-fir/ninebark
(Physocarpus malvaceus) habitat type in western Montana [1].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Showy aster is a native, perennial herb. Its peduncle is 1 to 2 feet
(30-60 cm) tall, and it usually has several shorter sterile stems
arising from extensive creeping rhizomes [14]. Rhizomes grow 0.5 to 2.0
inches (0.5-5 cm) below the soil surface [4]. Flowers are borne in an
open, flat-topped inflorescence [10,14].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sexual: Showy aster reproduces by seed. Seeds are wind dispersed long
distances and can germinate on bare soil [5,18,20].
Asexual: Showy aster sprouts from extensive, creeping rhizomes [4,18].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Showy aster occurs in continental boreal and cool-temperate climates on
moderately dry soils. It is a common interior species on "water
shedding" sites [12]. It is most common in montane zones, but is also
found in forested areas of valley and lower subalpine zones [14]. In
Wyoming showy aster occurs from 5,500 to 9,000 feet (1,667-2,727 m)
elevation. In Montana it is found from 3,000 to 7,100 feet (910-2,152
m) elevation [6].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Showy aster is tolerant of both sun and shade. Small colonies typically
establish following stand-destroying fires or clearcutting and site
scarification [20,22]. Showy aster produces more vegetative growth and
fewer flowering stems with increasing shade in later succession [14].
It can, however, maintain extensive colonies beneath pine (Pinus spp.)
and open Douglas-fir canopies. It is an indicator of late seres in
Douglas fir/ninebark (Physoparpus malvaceus) habitat types of central
Idaho [20].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Showy aster flowers in late summer throughout its range [14].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Showy aster is moderately resistant to fire, typically sprouting from
surviving rhizomes. Rhizomes usually survive light- to
moderate-severity fires that do not cause excessive soil heating [4,8].
After fire, showy aster also regenerates from wind-dispersed and
soil-stored seed [5,20,24]. Growth is stimulated after fire, resulting
in mass flowering in the first few postfire years [22,23,24].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - on-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Showy aster is top-killed by fire. Because rhizomes often survive, the
species has been classified as moderately resistant to fire [8].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Showy aster increases rapidly after fire [16,18]. Showy aster exhibits
mass flowering in postfire years 1 and 2. The extent of flowering is
directly related to preburn abundance and postfire survivorship
[22,23,24]. Showy aster frequency increased from 8 percent before fire
to 20 percent 2 years after a moderate-severity fire in a Douglas-fir
forest in Idaho. By postfire year 7, showy aster frequency increased to
52 percent [16]. Following the 1977 Pattee Canyon Fire in Missoula,
Montana, showy aster cover was 1.4 percent in 1978 and 2.0 percent in
1982 [16].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster
REFERENCES :
1. Arno, Stephen F.; Simmerman, Dennis G.; Keane, Robert E. 1985. Forest
succession on four habitat types in western Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep.
INT-177. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 74 p. [349]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
3. Cole, David N. 1988. Disturbance and recovery of trampled montane
grassland and forests in Montana. Res. Pap. INT-389. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 37 p. [3622]
4. Crane, M. F.; Fischer, William C. 1986. Fire ecology of the forest
habitat types of central Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-218. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 85 p. [5297]
5. Crane, M. F.; Habeck, James R.; Fischer, William C. 1983. Early postfire
revegetation in a western Montana Douglas-fir forest. Res. Pap. INT-319.
Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
Forest and Range Experiment Station. 29 p. plus chart. [710]
6. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
7. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
8. Fischer, William C.; Bradley, Anne F. 1987. Fire ecology of western
Montana forest habitat types. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-223. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 95 p. [633]
9. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
10. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
11. Holcroft, Anne C.; Herrero, Stephen. 1991. Black bear, Ursus americanus,
food habits in southwestern Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 105(3):
335-345. [18673]
12. Klinka, K.; Krajina, V. J.; Ceska, A.; Scagel, A. M. 1989. Indicator
plants of coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: University of British
Columbia Press. 288 p. [10703]
13. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
14. Lackschewitz, Klaus. 1991. Vascular plants of west-central
Montana--identification guidebook. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-227. Ogden, UT:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 648 p. [13798]
15. Leege, Thomas A.; Herman, Daryl J.; Zamora, Benjamin. 1981. Effects of
cattle grazing on mountain meadows in Idaho. Journal of Range
Management. 34(4): 324-328. [2961]
16. Lyon, L. Jack. 1966. Initial vegetal development following prescribed
burning of Douglas-fir in south-central Idaho. Res. Pap. INT-29. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 17 p. [1494]
17. Mace, Richard D. 1986. Analysis of grizzly bear habitat in the Bob
Marshall Wilderness, Montana. In: Contreras, Glen P.; Evans, Keith E,
compilers. Proceedings--grizzly bear habitat symposium; 1985 April 30 -
May 2; Missoula, MT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-207. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 136-149.
[10814]
18. McLean, Alastair. 1968. Fire resistance of forest species as influenced
by root systems. Journal of Range Management. 22: 120-122. [1621]
19. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
20. Steele, Robert; Geier-Hayes, Kathleen. 1989. The Douglas-fir/ninebark
habitat type in central Idaho: succession and management. Gen. Tech.
Rep. INT-252. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station. 65 p. [8136]
21. Steele, Robert; Geier-Hayes, Kathleen. 1993. The Douglas-fir/pinegrass
habitat type in central Idaho: succession and management. Gen. Tech.
Rep. INT-298. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station. 83 p. [21512]
22. Stickney, Peter F. 1980. Data base for post-fire succession, first 6 to
9 years, in Montana larch-fir forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-62. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 133 p. [6583]
23. Stickney, Peter. 1989. After forest wildfire, then what? .... Masses of
flowers!. Words on Wilderness: The Newsletter of the Wilderness Studies
Information Center. Missoula, MT: University of Montana: 6. [17441]
24. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
25. Tisdale, E. W.; McLean, A. 1957. The douglas-fir zone of southern
interior British Columbia. Ecological Monographs. 27(3): 247-266.
[8866]
26. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
27. Zimmerman, G. T.; Neuenschwander, L. F. 1984. Livestock grazing
influences on community structure, fire intensity, and fire frequency
within the Douglas-fir/ninebark habitat type. Journal of Range
Management. 37(2): 104-110. [10103]
Index
Related categories for Species: Aster conspicuus
| Showy Aster
|
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