W31 

 ASTERS 



As'ter spp. 



Aster, taking its name from the Greek, aster, a star, referring to 

 the rayed flower heads, is a large (at least 250 species), chiefly 

 North American genus of principally perennial, or occasionally an- 

 nual or biennial plants, with a large representation in the West. 

 Including the section of spiny asters and goldilocks (genera Leuco- 

 ,sym and Linosyris of some authors), the woody asters (genus 

 Xylorrhiza of some authors) and the genera Brachyactis, Doellin- 

 gvria, Eremiasti v iMn, Bucephalus, Hcrrickia, lonactis, Le'iicelene. 

 Ma^haeranthera, Oreostemrna, and Unamia, of some authors, at least 

 150 species occur in the Western States. Of these, the spiny aster 

 group (about 3 species) and the woody asters (approximately 10 

 species) are more or less woody, varying from scarcely more than 

 herbs with a woody root and crown to true shrubs or undershrubs. 

 The remainder of the western species are herbaceous plants, either 

 with rootstocks or with taproots and a more or less well defined 

 root crown. Asters are universally distributed in the Western States 

 and occur in practically all soils and in all types from the desert and 

 semidesert regions at low elevations to well above timberline. These 

 species seldom appear in pure stands but, taking the western ranges 

 as a whole, are so common and generally distributed that they form 

 a considerable part of the plant cover. 



The spiny and woody asters have a zero to very low palatability, 

 so that if sheep or other livestock crop them on any scale it is a 

 sure indication of improper range conditions. 1 



The smaller species of herbaceous asters, especially those with 

 numerous small nower heads and the upper leaves distinctly smaller 

 than the basal, are usually practically worthless to, at best, poor 

 forage. They are seldom cropped by cattle and but slightly by 

 sheep. These species have strong reproductive powers and fre- 

 quently become abundant on overgrazed ranges. The taller species, 

 with larger flower heads and leafy stems, are generally more palat- 

 able some of the better species being considered fair to good forage 

 for shsep and goats and fair forage for cattle. Horses rarely graze 

 any of the asters. Observations of elk on the Lewis and Clark For- 

 est in Montana have disclosed that a number of the larger asters 

 are good fall and winter forage for these game animals and are 

 also grazed in the spring and summer before heads are developed. 

 Deer, however, have not been noticed to graze asters in that locality. 



Among the asters one of the woody species, Parry aster (A. parryi, 

 syn. Xylorrhiza parryi) , often known as woody aster, is unusual in 

 that it is known to poison sheep. A very closely related species, 

 alkali aster {A. glabriusculu>s, syn. Xylorrldza glabriusaula) , rang- 

 ing from Wyoming to northern Utah, is also under strong suspicion. 1 

 The range of Parry aster is, so far as known, confined to Wyoming, 

 but it may also occur in northern Colorado. It is found only at the 



1 Dayton, W. A. IM PORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr Misc Pub 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



