Ciliolatus:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species.   plants NOT as follows: [plants 50 cm tall, or more; stem stout, usually crimson-purple, hispid; leaves oblong to lanceolate, auriculate-clasping, entire or distantly serrulate] plants perennial, with rootstocks or root crowns; NOT [annual, with fibrous roots] stem pubescent above middle, often in lines; NOT [glabrous except in the inflorescence] basal and lower stem leaves petioled or narrowed to a petiolar base; NOT sessile, NOT subsessile lower leaves often cordate at base lower leaf blades ovate or narrowly ovate; NOT lanceolate, NOT linear-lanceolate, NOT linear, NOT oblanceolate lower leaves serrate to serrulate heads few to many on a stem; NOT solitary, NOT 1-3 involucre and peduncles NOT glandular outer bracts NOT foliaceous, NOT surpassing the inner involucral bracts generally herbaceous, at least above; NOT chartaceous bracts mostly glabrous except the ciliate margins; NOT densely pubescent bracts linear, lanceolate or oblong; NOT oblanceolate bracts all acute; outer NOT obtuse bracts usually NOT keeled rays conspicuous rays mostly more than 15 pappus single; NOT double

 

Aster: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. The answers do not match all species of Aster found in the Canadian prairies, but they do match this species. taproot absent juice watery; NOT milky plant is NOT as follows: [basal leaves mostly 1-6 cm long, linear to oblanceolate or spatulate, forming a dense rosette; plants with a well-developed taproot; and either densely caespitose, seldom more than 5 cm tall, the heads sessile among the leaves, or with stout, simple stems, 5-15 (25) cm tall, heads solitary, involucres 2-4 cm wide, bracts ciliate to pectinate or fimbriate, rays blue and achenes densely pubescent, obovate to triangular] plants usually with leafy stems; plants NOT low, NOT stemless, NOT tufted leaves appearing before the flowers leaves NOT extending beyond flowers basal leaves NOT cordate, NOT sagittate (FOA) leaves alternate or basal; NOT opposite involucral bracts either subequal and the outer leafy, or more commonly evidently imbricate, with chartaceous base and evident green tip, sometimes chartaceous throughout; involucral bracts NOT [subequal or more or less imbricate, often green in part, but neither definitely leafy nor with chartaceous base and herbaceous green tip] bracts in several series; NOT in 1 or 2 series receptacle naked flower heads with florets both tubular and ray ray (ligulate) flowers when present, either pistillate or neutral; NOT perfect ray florets conspicuous ray florets 10-50; NOT 50 or more rays white to pink, purple or blue; NOT yellow, NOT orange stamens united to form a tube around the pistil style branches lanceolate or narrower, acute or acuminate, ordinarily more than 0.5 mm long; style branches NOT: [lanceolate or broader, acute to obtuse, 0.5 mm long or less, or obsolete] pappus of capillary bristles, at least in part; pappus NOT [of 1 or 2 short awns, a mere crown or none] (FOA) pappus composed of numerous hairs; NOT absent, NOT composed of only a few hairs (BF)