Oclemena acuminata

Oclemena acuminata
Hancock County, Maine (September)
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Oclemena
Species:	O. acuminata
Binomial name
Oclemena acuminata (Michx.) Greene [2]
Synonyms [3]
Homotypic synonyms Aster acuminatusMichx. Heterotypic synonyms Aster acuminatus f. discoideusKuntze Aster acuminatus var. elatiorPursh Aster acuminatus var. magdalenensisFernald Aster acuminatus var. pumilusPursh Aster acuminatus f. subdiscoideusKuntze Aster acuminatus f. subverticillatusFernald Aster acuminatus f. virescensVict. & J.Rousseau Aster divaricatusLam. Aster latifoliusBanks ex Steud. Diplostephium acuminatumDC.

Oclemena acuminata, commonly known as whorled wood aster, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America. It is one of the parent species of the hybrid known as Blake's aster.

Description

Nodding flower buds (August)

Oclemena acuminata is a perennial, herbaceous plant that propagates via a swollen tuber at the tip of a slender, elongated rhizome. It stands 10–80 cm (4–31 in) tall with 11–18 leaves clustered at the summit of the stem. Each leaf is 10–45 mm (0.4–1.8 in) wide with prominent teeth and flat margins. It has 5–46 flower heads (nodding in bud), each borne on a thin peduncle 0.9–4.5 cm (0.4–1.8 in) long. Each flower head has 15  ray flowers, white (or tinged with pink), and 14–30  disc flowers. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Oclemena acuminata is closely related to Oclemena nemoralis . Hybrid populations can occur wherever the parent species come in contact, that is, at the forest-bog ecotone. The hybrid is known as Blake's aster.

Taxonomy

Oclemena acuminata was first described as Aster acuminatus by the French botanist André Michaux in 1803. ^[7] The American botanist Edward Lee Greene transferred Aster acuminatusMichx. to genus Oclemena in 1903. ^[2] As of December 2025 ^[update] , the botanical name Oclemena acuminata(Michx.) Greene is widely accepted. ^{[3] [8] [9] [10]}

Distribution and habitat

Oclemena acuminata is native to eastern North America. Its range extends from Newfoundland in Canada to the U.S. state of Georgia. ^[6]

References

1. NatureServe (5 December 2025). "Oclemena acuminata". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
2. "Oclemena acuminata(Michx.) Greene". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 6 December 2025.
3. "Oclemena acuminata(Michx.) Greene". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 7 December 2025.
4. Greene (1903).
5. Nesom (1995), pp. 175–178.
6. Brouillet, Luc (2006). "Oclemena acuminata". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 20. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 6 December 2025– via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
7. "Aster acuminatusMichx.". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens . Retrieved 7 December 2025.
8. "Oclemena acuminata(Michx.) Greene". WFO Plant List. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
9. NRCS. "Oclemena acuminata". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
10. "Oclemena acuminata(Michx.) Greene". Database of Canadian Vascular Plants. Retrieved 8 December 2025.

Bibliography

• Greene, Edward Lee (1903). "Further Segregates from Aster". Leaflets of Botanical Observation and Criticism. 1: 4–7. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
• Nesom, Guy L. (1995). "Review of the taxonomy of Aster sensu lato (Asteraceae: Astereae), emphasizing the new world species". Phytologia. 77 (3): 141–297. Retrieved 10 December 2025.

External links

• "Oclemena acuminata(Michx.) Greene". Global Compositae Database. Compositae Working Group (CWG). 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.