Ionactis linariifolia also known as the flax-leaf ankle-aster, flaxleaf whitetop or simply aster[2] is a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae.

Ionactis linariifolia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Ionactis
Species:
I. linariifolia
Binomial name
Ionactis linariifolia
(L.) Greene 1897
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Aster linariifolius L. 1753
  • Aster pulcherrimus Lodd.
  • Aster rigidus L.
  • Chrysopsis linariifolia (L.) DC.
  • Diplopappus linariifolius Lindl.
  • Diplopappus linariifolius (L.) Hook.
  • Diplopappus rigidus Lindl.
  • Diplostephium linariifolium (L.) Nees
  • Diplostephium rigidum (Pursh) Sweet

Ionactis linariifolia grows across much of eastern and central North America from Florida north as far as Québec and New Brunswick, and west to extreme eastern Texas.[3] It is found in a variety of habitats such as moist sites, oak pine woods, ridges, and bluffs.[2]

Ionactis linariifolia is an herb up to 70 cm (28 inches) tall. Leaves are green, long and narrow, up to 4 cm (1.6 inches) long. The plant usually produces several flower heads in a flat-topped array. Each head has blue, white, or violet ray flowers surrounding numerous yellow disc flowers.[4]

It was initially classified by Carolus Linnaeus as Aster linariifolius,[5] known as the stiff-leafed aster.[6] Ionactis was classified as a separate genus by Edward Lee Greene in 1897.[7]

1913 Line drawing

References

edit
  1. ^ The Plant List, Ionactis linariifolia (L.) Greene
  2. ^ a b "Ionactis linariifolia in Flora of North America @". Efloras.org. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  3. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. ^ Flora of North America, Ionactis linariifolia (Linnaeus) Greene, 1897. Flax-leaf ankle-aster, flaxleaf whitetop or aster, aster à feuilles de linaires
  5. ^ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 874 in Latin
  6. ^ Stanwyn G. Shetler; Sylvia Stone Orli (2000). Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Washington-Baltimore Area. Part 1. Ferns, Fern Allies, Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons (PDF). Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution. p. 22. S2CID 134043246. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-20.
  7. ^ Greene, Edward Lee. 1897. Pittonia 3(17C): 245–246