Aster thomsonii C.B.Clarke, 48 1876. (Syn: Aster flexuosus (Royle ex DC.) Kuntze [Illegitimate]; Kalimeris flexuosa Royle ex DC. (Unresolved));
.
Perennial herb up to 90 cm tall, rough hairy, branched; leaves ovate to elliptic 5-10 cm long, coarsely toothed, clasping at base; heads solitary at ends of branches, 4-5 cm across, with purple spreading ray florets up to 2 cm long; involucre bracts linear-lanceolate, hairy, leafy; achene hairy, longer than pappus.
.

/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/073111_1377.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/073111_1379.jpg
Chamba heights al190811a … id please..: this looked like the Daisies we find towards Kalatope except the leaves are very different ..
Location Chamba
Altitude 3500 mts
Habit herb
Habitat wild
Height 18-20 inches

It is clearly Aster, but to identify the species we should have some details. Diameter of head/flower is the minimum we expect to do that.


This could be Aster thomsonii, found at altitudes of 2100-3000 m.


Yes sessile almost clasping leaves do suggest Aster thomsoni.



/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster-thomsoni-Chakrata%20Budher%20caves%20road-P1120951-Chakrata-3.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster-thomsoni-Chakrata%20Deovan%20Road-DSC00660-Chakrata-1.jpg
Asteraceae Fortnight Part 1-Radiate heads: Aster thomsoni from Chakrata- GS28 :  Attachments (3).  1 post by 1 author.

Aster thomsoni Clarke
Perennial herb up to 90 cm tall, rough hairy, branched; leaves ovate to elliptic 5-10 cm long, coarsely toothed, clasping at base; heads solitary at ends of branches, 4-5 cm across, with purple spreading ray florets up to 2 cm long; involucre bracts linear-lanceolate, hairy, leafy; achene hairy, longer than pappus.
Photographed from Chakrata.

.


/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/A.thomsonii_DSR.JPG
ASTERACEAE Fortnight Part-I Radiate Heads May 1-14: Aster thomsonii from Uttarakhand_DSR_14 : Attachments (1). 1 post by 1 author.
Aster thomsonii C.B.Clarke is a temperate Aster in shady areas of Western Himalaya.
Here photographed on way to Kedarnath, Uttarakhand.



/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-5-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-7-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-4--4.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-7--4.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-6-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-3-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-2-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20thomsonii%20-1-.JPG
Asteraceae Fortnight Part I-Radiate Heads: Aster thomsonii? from Chakrata- NS 65 :  Attachments (8). 2 posts by 2 authors.
Please validate if this one is Aster thomsonii… shot from Chakrata area..

I think yes



/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_5350_11Sep2016.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4320_10Sep2016.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4307_10Sep2016.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4313_10Sep2016.jpg
Aster thomsonii ABSEP2016/37 : 3 posts by 2 authors. 4 images.
After finding a couple of plants at 2450m I was hoping to find more higher up but to my surprise I didn’t encounter a single flowering plant. Either these ones are early and the others will flower sometime soon, or there is only a small localised population. Please validate.
I assume the violet-blue flower heads fade into white with age.
Aster thomsonii
Mcleodganj-Triund, HP  2450m approx. 10-11 September 2016

I think matches with images at Aster thomsonii


Some additional photos from Sunday, 9 October. The teeth on the leaves can vary from coarse to none.
3 images.


Yes, these images seem to match Aster thomsonii well. Some Asters are very difficult to name.
The Supplement to Flowers of the Himalaya has a photo but there is only a description in the main FOH – they say forests & shrubberies @ 2100-3000m.
According to Collet this was common in woods at Shimla.
Stewart records it from N.Pakistan & Kashmir where it is common in Sind & Lidder Valleys through to Kishtwar @ 2300-3350m, commenting that the leaves are sessile or nearly so.


/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DSCN9523.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DSCN9517-8.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DSCN9521.JPG

Aster thomsonii AT MAR 2017/23 : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3)

Aster thomsonii
Shimla
August 2016
I’ll also search for complete plant in my collection add later on.



/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4693_16-17Aug2017.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_9484_28-29July2017.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4691_16-17Aug2017.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4710_16-17Aug2017.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_9489_28-29July2017.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4708_16-17Aug2017.jpg/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/_MG_4700_16-17Aug2017.jpg

Asteraceae for ID ABAUG2017/30 : 10 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (7)
I saw a lone plant among the Rhododendron campanulatum on 28 July and saw more such plants on my two subsequent trips to Ilaqa and beyond. The two-tier ray-florets point to an Erigeron species. These plants were about 40-50cm tall with large individual flowers (5-6cm across) at the end of stems. Please help identify it.
Erigeron sp.?
Snowline and Ilaqa, Dharamshala, HP
3000-3300m
28-29 July, 05, 16-17 August 2017

Pl. try to check comparative images at efi site on genus and subfamily page, if already not done so.


Thank you … I did check but didn’t come close to an ID. Erigeron is very likely but it’s a variable genus.


Also tried comparative images at Astereae but could not find a match.


Thomson’s Aster
Aster thomsonii


I think it may be Aster spp. found on temperate area.


Should be Aster thomsonii


Thank you … You are right, my sample is most likely Aster thomsonii. I convinced myself otherwise because the A. thomsonii plants I know from lower altitudes haven’t yet flowered and most had a cluster of flowers simultaneously last year (efi thread).
Do plants at higher altitude flower first in this species?
Thank you for correcting me.


/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20%202%20Ckta%20-2-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20%202%20Ckta%20-4-.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20%202%20Ckta%20-5--4.JPG/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Aster%20%202%20Ckta%20-1--6.JPG
Asteraceae Fortnight Part I-Radiate Heads: Aster sp. 2 from Chakrata- NS 66 : Attachments (5).  5 posts by 2 authors.
Please help to id this species from Chakrata area..

Pl. look Aster peduncularis.


Thanks … for the help.. will try to ascertain..


Herb sp. in POWO and GBIF looks matching !


Cordiofontis thomsonii (C.B.Clarke) Nesom Syn : Aster thomsonii C.B.Clarke ??


Both Aster peduncularis and Aster thomsonii look quite close as per GBIF links herein.

We have to find the difference between the two.
I am unable to get this on the net.
Of the two, Aster thomsonii seems more common as per availability of specimens in GBIF.
For the time being, I take this post as Aster thomsonii. I could find the description of this in IBIS Flora from the FBI.

OK … !


To me this looks like Aster thomsonii.



Aster thomsonii
 image from Flowers of the Himalaya: A Supplement by Adam Stainton, for comparison.


The size of the flowers is quite different. Aster thomsonii has larger flowers, 4-5 cm across. Nidhan ji may comment on it, as he saw the flowers. I usually take one picture of the flowers together with a scale, for example with my finger – it helps in estimating the size later by looking at the pics. I am attaching an image of, what I think is, Aster thomsoni from Dhanaulti, Uttarakhand.



The size of the flowers is quite different. Aster thomsonii has larger flowers, 4-5 cm across. … may comment on it, as he saw the flowers. I usually take one picture of the flowers together with a scale, for example with my finger – it helps in estimating the size later by looking at the pics. I am attaching an image of, what I think is, Aster thomsoni from Dhanaulti, Uttarakhand.


I am hopeful that … may be having a few shots of this flower. It was my first tour of Chakrata with … in September 2011….the photo was recorded on 17.09.2011 at around 9:30 am (this is a reference for …)..
I had learnt the significance of reference scale only after some more tours, and this is surely an incomplete post to conclude anything. Even the leaves are not captured. After such a long gap, I am now realizing the mistakes I did in the field, and there are no ways to correct, because it is rare of the rarest possibility to chance upon same plants in future follow up visits.
…, Aster thomsonii is a  good probability considering the flower dimensions.. flowers are large, you can see my fingers (at least faintly) in the second image. I am enclosing two more pics, shot a little distance away.. which may help to decide

SK 3192 02 September 2021: 7 very high res. images.

Location: Mugu, Rara, West Nepal
Altitude: 2913m.
Date: 20 August 2021 
Habit : Wild
Asteraceae…. ???


Cordiofontis thomsonii (C. B. Clarke) Nesom ??


Yes, appears close to images at Aster thomsonii


Cordiofontis thomsonii (C. B. Clarke) Nesom



.

References:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *