Boltonia

Scientific name

Boltonia L'Hér.

Common names

doll’s daisy, small-head doll’s daisy, false aster, narrow-leaved false aster, panicled boltonia

Family

Asteraceae

Similar genera

Bidens, Diodia, Eclipta, Hygrophila, Oldenlandia

Native distribution

southeastern North America

Species cultivated

Boltonia diffusa Elliott

Adventive distribution

none

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

terrestrial terrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
to amphibiousamphibious:
(adj) of a plant able to live on land or in water
, erect to ascending herb

Brief description

Perennial, may be stoloniferous. Stems erect, slender, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
, branches slender or filiformfiliform:
(adj) thread-like; long and thin
, ± ribbed. Leaves alternatealternate:
(adj) (of leaves) bearing one leaf per node; placed singly on the stem at different heights
, sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear to linear-lanceolate; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
; base attenuateattenuate:
(adj) narrowing gradually to a point
; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
entireentire:
(adj) having a continuous margin that is not toothed or lobed
; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
a prominent midribmidrib:
(n) the main or central vein, line or rib in a leaf or perianth segment
; those on branches much smaller. Heads numerous in spreading panicles; peduncles filiformfiliform:
(adj) thread-like; long and thin
; involucreinvolucre:
(n) a whorl of bracts subtending a flower, flower cluster, or inflorescence
hemispheric; phyllariesphyllary:
(n) an individual bract of the involucre in Asteracea flower heads
in 4-6 series, subulatesubulate:
(adj) awl-shaped; tapering from base to apex
to linear-oblong, ± equal; receptaclereceptacle:
(n) the portion of the pedicel on which the flowers are borne, or in the Asteraceae, the portion of the peduncule upon which the florets of the head are borne
flat; ray florets up to 40, pistillate, white or lilac; disk florets numerous, bisexualbisexual:
(adj) having both male and female sexual reproductive structures on one individual or in one flower
, tubulartubular:
(adj) (of a corolla, perianth, calyx tube or other structure) (1) tube-shaped; cylindrical: narrow and elongate with more or less straight sides; (2) having segments fused into a tube (of any shape)
, yellow.

Natural habitat

dry to wet ground; sinkhole ponds, swampy thickets, wet depressions, waste places, prairies and open woods

Additional comments

Boltonia diffusa is not a true aquatic, but can tolerate extended periods in wet soil and even submersedsubmersed:
see submerged
.