Symphyotrichum rhiannon
S. rhiannon photographed September 2022

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astereae
Subtribe: Symphyotrichinae
Genus: Symphyotrichum
Subgenus: Symphyotrichum subg. Symphyotrichum
Section: Symphyotrichum sect. Symphyotrichum
Species:
S. rhiannon
Binomial name
Symphyotrichum rhiannon
Weakley & Govus[2]
Symphyotrichum rhiannon native distribution map. Species is endemic to the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens in Clay County, North Carolina. Map source: USDA, NRCS PLANTS Database with additional information from Kauffman, G.L.; Nesom, G.L.; Weakley, A.S.; Govus, T.E.; Cotterman, L.M. (2004). "A new species of Symphyotrichum (Asteraceae: Astereae) from a serpentine barren in western North Carolina". SIDA, Contributions to Botany. 21: 827–839. ISSN 0036-1488. Retrieved 8 September 2021 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Endemic distribution[3][4]

Symphyotrichum rhiannon is a species of flowering plant endemic to a serpentine barren in western North Carolina. It has been given the vernacular Rhiannon's aster and is also known as Buck Creek aster.[1] It is a perennial, herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae.[4]

Chromosomes

Symphyotrichum rhiannon has a base number of x = 8.[5] Hexaploid cytotype with a chromosome count of 48 has been reported.[6]

Taxonomy

Symphyotrichum rhiannon was formally described by Alan Stuart Weakley and Thomas E. Govus in 2004.[4]

Symphyotrichum rhiannon herbarium specimen

Etymology

Kauffman, Nesom, et al., formally explained the etymology of the species as follows:[4]

[It] is named in honor of Rhiannon Weakley, whose desire to rest during a field excursion led the authors to further investigate..., and also in honor of the original Rhiannon, a Welsh goddess figure....

Informally explained, Rhiannon Weakley was the toddler daughter of Alan and Allison Weakley. She needed a snack and a nap during the 2003 field excursion.[7]

"Rhiannon hadn’t had a nap that morning," says Alan Weakley, "and she had a little, ah, loss of composure." So the group plopped down to give Rhiannon a snack and a chance to rest. And there, growing all around, was [Laura] Mansberg's mystery aster.

Distribution and habitat

Symphyotrichum rhiannon is endemic to the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens in Clay County, North Carolina, in the Nantahala National Forest.[4][8]

Conservation

NatureServe lists it as Critically Imperiled (G1).[1]

Citations

References

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