About Symphyotrichum lentum (Greene) G.L.Nesom
Symphyotrichum lentum is similar in appearance to Symphyotrichum chilense, a species that can grow in the same region. It is a colonial perennial herb that grows from a long rhizome, and produces hairless stems between 40 centimeters and 200 centimeters, or 1+1⁄4 to 6+1⁄2 feet, tall. The leaves are linear or lance-shaped, pointed, and can reach up to 15 centimeters, 6 inches, long when growing near the base of the plant. Lower leaves wilt and fall off by the time the plant begins to flower. The inflorescence is an open cluster of flower heads, with a fringe of violet ray florets surrounding a center of yellow disc florets. The fruit produced is a hairy cypsela with a long white pappus. Symphyotrichum lentum is endemic to salt marshes and wet grasslands of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in Northern California.
